In the News

Because of a lack of contacts within the state, Texas courts lack jurisdiction over the California municipalities bringing climate change lawsuits against oil companies, according to a merit brief filed yesterday.

When choosing San Antonio as the location for its first U.S. headquarters, global data technology leader Okin Process recognized the competitive business advantages found only in Texas. And it is in good company.

Texas has earned the Best State for Business title for a record 17 years in a row from the Chief Executive Group. 

A group of defense lawyers has accused a Dallas judge of ordering her court coordinator to pretend to be her in an online proceeding.

The Dallas County Defense Lawyers Association filed a complaint last week with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, alleging that State District Judge Amber Givens’ coordinator, Arceola Warfield, illegally acted as the judge in a hearing to consider a suspect’s bail and conditions for release from jail.

Medical providers who treated patients injured by a fire and explosion at an ExxonMobil chemical plant near Houston must disclose information about what they charged others for the same services, The Texas Supreme Court ruled.

In a recent New York indictment, federal prosecutors allege the conspirators—which include doctors, lawyers, and a litigation funder—worked together to defraud property owners and insurers out of $31 million by staging fake slip-and-fall accidents.

A new report from the American Transportation Research Institute stated that while trucking industry court cases that result in verdicts of less than $1 million may not dominate headlines like those that end in multimillion-dollar judgments, the cumulative effect of these smaller verdicts can still inflict significant financial distress on the industry.

National pharmacy chains called for a mistrial after the lawyer representing two Ohio counties in closing arguments urged jurors to consider the “national ramifications” of their decision and jokingly suggested they “really go after” any member of the panel who refused to find the defendants liable for causing a public nuisance by dispensing opioids.

At nearly 1.5 million, Texas has the second-highest population of veterans in the country — including thousands who are facing hardship with their health, housing, and stability. As justices and veterans ourselves, we share a unique perspective and understanding of how civil legal aid can help remove obstacles facing those returning to civilian life after active duty and for those who served our country many decades ago.

On the same day we told you about the abuse of “public nuisance” theory in opioid lawsuits, the Oklahoma Supreme Court tossed a $465 million judgment against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly creating a nuisance by manufacturing prescription opioids. Congratulations to J&J, a rare corporation that had the courage to fight back against this abusive litigation.

Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial decrying the House of Representatives massive, 2,000-page budget bill, claiming that it will raise taxes on businesses while subsidizing lawsuits against them.

“By reducing trial lawyers’ legal costs, [the bill] would effectively subsidize contingency-fee cases. Lawyers will be more likely to file dubious lawsuits and drag out cases if they can immediately deduct their expenses,” the editorial reads in part, calling this component of the bill “a direct income transfer to plaintiffs’ lawyers….”