In the News

A novel type of “public nuisance” lawsuit threatens to weaponize our courts by crippling all sorts of industries. Last week’s blockbuster ruling in Oklahoma is the perfect example of public nuisance lawsuit abuse. A single state judge in Oklahoma held a company liable for $572 million under a public nuisance theory—even though no public right was at issue, and the company had complied with existing regulations in a heavily regulated industry.

In a span of only a few days, The Buzbee Law Firm filed hundreds of lawsuits against insurers on behalf of clients impacted by Hurricane Harvey. The flood of litigation was filed in Harris County District Court and came in the wake of the storm’s two-year anniversary. From Aug. 21 to Aug. 26, Buzbee Law filed nearly 400 suits, court records show.

The ruling Monday by an Oklahoma judge that Johnson & Johnson must pay $572 million for selling opioids will be cheered by everyone who wants a scapegoat for the scourge of addiction. But the ruling could have far larger, and more dangerous, consequences by opening a vast new arena for product-liability suits.

Jane Bland, a former Republican appeals court judge in Houston who lost her seat in November amid a Democratic rout of urban-area appeals courts, is Gov. Greg Abbott’s pick for a vacancy on the Texas Supreme Court, he announced Monday.

“Wuest’s litigation history is more than unusual. This order finds that it shows a pattern of using the threat of class action to extract an undeserved premium on an individual claim. This pattern is further evidenced by the fact that in several of the bases, both Wuest and his counsel received settlement amounts disproportionate to maximum recovery allowed under the statute.”

Recently, RealClear held a dinner discussion on the issue of Jackpot Justice — a big problem of the 90’s, which, we thought, had been addressed. News Alert: A recent Texas decision just might bring back this practice of seeking whopping judgments unconnected to the cost of actual damages, or an underlying crime, or negligence.

A prominent Bellaire lawyer with a history in the criminal spotlight and four others were charged in a vast criminal conspiracy case involving allegations of tax evasion, witness tampering and obstruction of justice, and accusing them of barratry, or “ambulance chasing,” and unlawfully soliciting clients through recruiters.

Recognizing the growing conflict between states and municipalities that are separately suing the opioid industry, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster has removed lawyers that represent both states and cities from any role in negotiating a potential class action settlement of opioid claims.

Soon after the first of nearly 2,000 opioid lawsuits by cities and counties flooded into his Ohio courtroom, U.S. District Judge Dan Polster laid out an ambitious plan to wrap them up within a year. “People aren’t interested in depositions, and discovery, and trials,” he said during a January 2018 hearing over the multidistrict litigation concentrated in his court. “My objective is to do something meaningful to abate this crisis and to do it in 2018.”So how’s Judge Polster doing so far?

The row over the finances at litigation funding giant Burford heated up further today as hedge fund Muddy Waters said it will report the company and its directors to the City regulator, alleging they misled investors. Muddy Waters intends to handover over its 25-page report on the litigation financier to the Financial Conduct Authority and ask it to launch a probe.