The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared skeptical that an anti-solicitation statute should apply to lawyers licensed in the state who used "case runners" to attract personal injury clients who live out of state for lawsuits filed and decided beyond the borders of the Lone Star State.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Texas High Court Skeptical Of Atty Solicitation Law Overreach

By Lynn LaRowe

The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared skeptical that an anti-solicitation statute should apply to lawyers licensed in the state who used "case runners" to attract personal injury clients who live out of state for lawsuits filed and decided beyond the borders of the Lone Star State.

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Steph Curry Card Suit Can Proceed, Texas Judge Rules

By Tom Lotshaw

Sports card grader Beckett Collectibles LLC must face a negligent misrepresentation lawsuit alleging it gave an unwarranted "9.5 gem mint" rating to a Steph Curry basketball card that had actually been altered and was later purchased for $168,000, a Texas federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

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Ex-PBM Worker Says He Bribed Co-Workers In $160M Fraud

By Catherine Marfin

A former employee of a pharmacy benefit manager told a Texas federal jury on Wednesday that he accepted more than $180,000 in bribes over five years from a Houston man accused of running a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud, testifying that he would often accept money to bribe his co-workers with.

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Judge Nixes Alta Mesa Trustee's Clawback Suit

By Hilary Russ

A Texas bankruptcy judge has ended efforts by the litigation trustee for defunct oil and gas company Alta Mesa Resources Inc. to claw back money from its predecessor's shareholders, finding that they did not directly benefit from contracts that boosted the value of the company before it was later taken public in a reverse merger.

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Houston Firm Says DQ Bid Is Attempt To Duck MDL Penalties

By Catherine Marfin

Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing PLLC hit back Wednesday at Arnold & Itkin LLP's bid to disqualify it from Hurricane Zeta litigation, saying Arnold & Itkin's claim that a former law clerk took information for the defense team is an "illegitimate attempt" to "avoid legitimate merits discovery that goes to the heart of the case."

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Fried Frank, DLA Piper Steer Commercial REIT's $251M Listing

By Tom Zanki

Shares of real estate investment trust FrontView began trading Wednesday after it priced a nearly $251 million initial public offering within its intended price range, with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP advising the company and DLA Piper serving as counsel for the underwriters.

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Colony Ridge Seeks Quick Appeal In 'Reverse Redlining' Suit

By Katryna Perera

A Texas real estate developer that recently lost a bid to exit a lending discrimination suit brought by the U.S. government and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved to begin a Fifth Circuit appeal, arguing the "novelty" of the case's reverse redlining theory warrants immediate appellate review.

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LITIGATION

Paralyzed Texas Man Awarded $59M In Med Mal Suit

By Mike Curley

A Texas jury has awarded more than $59 million to a man who had alleged he was left paralyzed when doctors at Baptist Beaumont Hospital delayed properly diagnosing and treating his spinal condition.

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Co. Nixes 2nd Insurer From Chemical Leak Defense Suit

By Ganesh Setty

A subcontractor facing consolidated personal injury claims over a chemical leak at a LyondellBasell facility in La Porte, Texas, voluntarily tossed its coverage claims against a second insurer in Texas federal court, leaving one insurer remaining in the dispute.

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Watchdog Appeals After Court Grants X Access To Donor Lists

By Spencer Brewer

The nonprofit group Media Matters for America appealed to the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday after a Texas federal judge ordered it to turn over its donor lists to social media platform X Corp., saying that it still had a First Amendment privilege to keep the names of its donors private.

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BANKRUPTCY

Bally Sports Owner's Ch. 11 Plan Ditches MLB TV Deals

By Vince Sullivan

A new Chapter 11 plan filed by the owner of Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks would reject all but one of the company's broadcast deals with MLB teams, but would maintain contracts with professional basketball and hockey partners while swapping existing debt for reorganized equity.

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Fort Worth Senior Home Hits Ch. 11 With Prepackaged Plan

By Ben Zigterman and Rick Archer

The owner of a Fort Worth, Texas, retirement home filed for Chapter 11 with a prepackaged plan that would refinance its $112 million of municipal bond obligations.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

State Farm's Sanctions Bid Nixed In Driver Tech Patent Tangle

By Elizabeth Daley

Noting that both parties had unclean hands, a Texas federal judge denied State Farm's request for sanctions in consolidated patent infringement cases brought by an inventor who patented driver monitoring technology that he claims the insurer and automakers Mercedes-Benz and Honda used without permission.

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PEOPLE

Jones Day Adds Ex-Winston & Strawn Trio In Dallas

By Rachel Rippetoe

Jones Day announced Wednesday that it is adding three former Winston & Strawn partners to its corporate practice in Dallas.

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Ex-Chief of Staff For Laura Bush Joins Dentons In Dallas

By Adrian Cruz

Dentons announced Tuesday it brought on an experienced political adviser who was the chief of staff for former first lady Laura Bush, and who held a number of other White House roles, as a senior policy director in the Dallas office.

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BRG Hires Alvarez & Marsal Arbitration Pro In Houston

By Joyce Hanson

Global consulting firm Berkeley Research Group said Wednesday it has added an arbitration expert from consultant Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC to its international arbitration and cross-border disputes offerings, as well as its energy and climate practice.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Aviation Watch: Boeing Plea Agreement May Not Serve Public

The proposed plea agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Boeing — the latest outgrowth of the company's 737 Max travails — is opposed by crash victims' families, faces an uncertain fate in court, and may ultimately serve no beneficial purpose, even if approved, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

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Using Primacy And Recency Effects In Opening Statements

By understanding and strategically employing the primacy and recency effects in opening statements, attorneys can significantly enhance their persuasive impact, ensuring that their narrative is both compelling and memorable from the outset, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

These Are The Legal Chiefs Who Command Top Dollar

By Michele Gorman

With the increasingly dynamic role of the top corporate lawyer playing out across sectors — as well as stock awards that far outpace the amounts they see in their salaries and bonuses — the pay packages for most general counsel and chief legal officers continue to stay strong.

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The 2024 Compensation Report: General Counsel

Law360 Pulse looks at the pay of the best-compensated legal chiefs at S&P 500 companies. Find out who’s making the most and which law firms and schools have the most alumni in these high-profile posts.

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SEC's Top Cop Departing After Record-Breaking Tenure

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that enforcement director Gurbir Grewal will be leaving the agency next week following a three-year tenure, during which the agency brought in record penalties and frequently clashed with crypto industry participants objecting to a string of lawsuits brought under Grewal's leadership.

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NYC Mayor Adams May Face More Charges, Feds Say

By Frank G. Runyeon

Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday it was "possible" they would charge New York City Mayor Eric Adams with additional crimes in his corruption case, indicating they have evidence he told witnesses to lie to the FBI.

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Bullying In Law Is Pervasive, Drives Turnover, Ill. Attys Say

By Aebra Coe

Nearly a quarter of those who responded to a recent large-scale survey of Illinois lawyers said they had been bullied at work within the last year, with those numbers spiking among women and other traditionally underrepresented attorneys in the profession, a report released Tuesday found.

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Ex-Federal Judge's Sex Misconduct Spurs New Criminal Trial

By Ryan Boysen

The sexual misconduct scandal that toppled a federal judge in Alaska has now caused a criminal conviction to be overturned, despite prosecutors' insistence that the judge's "out-of-court judicial misconduct" had no effect on the trial.

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Progressive Group Staffs Up For Judicial Nominee Fights

By Courtney Bublé

With a little over a month until Election Day, a progressive organization announced a slate of new hires to prepare for judicial confirmation battles and fight for court reform on Wednesday.

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Maine's First Female Federal Judge To Take Semiretired Status

By Courtney Bublé

U.S District Judge Nancy Torresen, the first woman to hold a federal judgeship in Maine, will take semiretired status next year.

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Cahill Adds House Oversight Atty Who Handled Biden Probe

By Rachel Scharf

Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP announced Wednesday it hired the former head lawyer for the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, whose work includes guiding an impeachment probe into President Joe Biden.

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Kirkland Accuses Ex-IP Atty Of Delaying Bias Suit Discovery

By Dorothy Atkins

Kirkland & Ellis LLP told a California federal magistrate judge Wednesday that a former Kirkland intellectual property associate has delayed discovery production in her discrimination lawsuit against the firm, arguing that her discovery responses cite an erroneous legal standard, are non-committal and are "not even close to being proper."

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Q&A

Fried Frank's M&A Co-Head Views Rate Cuts, AI With Caution

By Al Barbarino

While it might be tempting to jump with joy about the Federal Reserve's recent rate cut, Philip Richter, co-head of Fried Frank's mergers and acquisitions practice, takes a more measured view. Here, Law360 talks to Richter about the rate cut, the upcoming presidential election, artificial intelligence and more.

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Tenn. Atty Sues Federal Court, Judges Over Gag Order Rule

By Jack Karp

A rule of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee barring attorneys from making "any extrajudicial statements" about cases pending in the district violates the First Amendment and should be blocked, according to a Nashville civil rights lawyer.

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MSU Halted Paying Legal Bills After Critical Report, Firm Says

By Danielle Ferguson

Michigan State University stopped paying outside counsel to defend its board of trustees chair after an investigative report appeared to support claims the chair bullied colleagues, the counsel said, filing a state complaint seeking two months' worth of fees.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Alexander Dubose

Ammons Law Firm

Arnold & Itkin

Baker Botts

Beck Redden

Bracewell LLP

Butler Snow LLP

Cahill Gordon

Condon Tobin

Covington & Burling

DLA Piper

Davis Gerald & Cremer

Dentons

DiNovo Price

Elias Law Group LLP

Eversheds Sutherland

Ferguson Law Firm LLP

Filippatos PLLC

Fish & Richardson

Flood & Flood

Fried Frank

Gibson Dunn

Gillam Smith

Goodwin Procter

Haynes & Boone

Hilder & Associates

Hogan Lovells

Hunton Andrews

Husch Blackwell

Jackson Walker LLP

Jones Day

Kassab Law Firm

Kirkland & Ellis

Law Office of John D. Cline

Miller & Chevalier

Mullin Hoard

Orrick Herrington

Paul Hastings

Paul Weiss

Porter Hedges

Potter Minton

Proskauer Rose

Quinn Emanuel

Riggs & Ray

Serpe Andrews

Shepherd Prewett

Skadden Arps

Sullivan & Cromwell

The Miller Law Firm PC (Rochester, MI)

Trahan Kornegay

Venable LLP

Walker Wilcox

Weil Gotshal

White & Case

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AXA XL Ltd.

Aires

Alphabet Inc.

Alta Mesa Resources Inc.

Alvarez & Marsal Holdings LLC

Amazon.com Inc.

American Constitution Society

American Express Co.

Atlanta Braves

Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas

Berkeley Research Group LLC

Binance Holdings Ltd.

Buckner International

CRA International Inc.

CVS Health Corp.

Central Maine Power Co.

Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington

Coinbase Global Inc.

CoreCivic Inc.

Delta Air Lines Inc.

FTI Consulting Inc.

Fordham University

George Washington University

Glencore PLC

Google LLC

HP Inc.

HPS Investment Partners LLC

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism

Institute for Justice

International Business Machines Corp.

International Centre for Dispute Resolution

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

International House of Pancakes LLC

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Johnson & Johnson

Lifespace Communities Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

London Court of International Arbitration

LyondellBasell Industries NV

Major League Baseball Inc.

Mercedes-Benz USA LLC

Michigan State University

Morgan Stanley

Netflix Inc.

Oak Street Health Inc.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

S.A.C. Capital Advisors LP

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

The Boeing Co.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Transocean Ltd.

Twitter Inc.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Washington & Lee University

Wells Fargo & Co.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Reserve System

Manhattan District Attorney's Office

Permanent Court of Arbitration

Texas Legislature

Texas Medical Board

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court