Prevailed in Bench Trial

Prevailed in bench trial in New Jersey representing former officer and minority investor in national retail company in connection with claims against majority investor and others for fraudulent inducement to extend maturity date of certain subordinated notes later significantly impaired by company’s bankruptcy.

HBA Treasurer

Jillian Schumacher, Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, was recently elected to serve as Treasurer of the Houston Bar Association Appellate Practice Section.

President’s Award

Kristin Kruse Lotz received the President’s Award this year for her work with the Houston Bar Association.

NLRB Watch – Old Rule Reinstated

In its first ruling since the last Obama-appointed NLRB Member left her seat, the now 3-member NLRB has reinstated the old rule that more readily defers to an arbitrator’s decision regarding unfair labor practice claims.  Employers should take note that this indicates a major shift by the Board in favor of arbitral deferral not seen since 2014.  This also might …

U.S. Supreme Court Sneak Peek: 2019-2020 Term

Craig Ferrell, Of Counsel at DT and former Houston Police Department Deputy Director/General Counsel, reviews the top ten issues pending before the Supreme Court this term: Read the Full Article Here

PA High Court to Consider Whether Rule of Capture Applies to “Tres-Frac”

By: Ted Tredennick and Elliot Deese (DT previously blogged on this developing legal topic on April 26, 2018 and Feb. 7, 2019.) Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case with wide-reaching implications for the entire hydraulic fracturing industry.1 As discussed in previous blog posts, at issue is: Whether the rule of capture precludes trespass liability …

Class Actions for Oil & Gas Royalty Owners

Like chili cook offs, high school football, and Texas toast, legal disputes over oil & gas royalties are a time- honored tradition in Texas—a tradition dating back to when oil was first discovered at Spindletop Field over 100 years ago. Two recent cases, Verde v. Burlington and Verde v. Koerner, demonstrate an unusual wrinkle to this common Texan squabble. In …

D&T Welcomes Two New Attorneys

Over the last year, DT has more than doubled to 20 lawyers. Most recently, Andrea Levin Kim, a litigation partner, and Thomas Moss, a litigation associate joined the firm. Andrea has an MBA and is certified fraud examiner previously with Diamond McCarthy. She maintains a national practice specializing in corporate internal investigations, complex financial fraud, and fiduciary litigation. Thomas, also …

Drilling? Know Your Rights Below And Above

A recent court opinion from West Virginia’s Supreme Court has provided another reminder to operators that, when drilling for minerals below neighboring tracts, a surface agreement is their safest bet to avoid disputes with surface owners. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently ruled on EQT Production Co. v. Crowder et al., a case related to mineral owners’ surface …

The “General Rule” of Interlocutory Appeals

The term “general rule” can be, and often is, used to describe nearly every legal concept as an explanatory aid to designate the inception point or overarching principal of the law. However, in some scenarios, as the law develops the number of exceptions surrounding the “general rule” can become overwhelmed by the exceptions, reducing the use of the term “general …

Legally Sufficient Evidence of Attorney’s Fees Requires Evidence Supporting the Lodestar Base Calculation

Recently, the Supreme Court of Texas clarified the issue of whether the lodestar method applies in cases where a request for attorney’s fees is not based on a statute that specifically requires it. The lodestar method or proving attorney’s fees is a “short hand version” of the longstanding Arthur Andersen factors that relate to the reasonableness of an award of …

Hurricane Season 2018 Preview

For Houstonians, the official start of Hurricane season—June 1­­—instigate feelings of dread, anxiety, and loss as the lingering effects of Hurricane Harvey are still fresh and palpable. Many neighborhoods still haven’t recovered. Many homeowners still aren’t back in their homes. The rebuild and remodeling continue. It seems like there is no end in sight. Recently, meteorologists at Colorado State University …

Pennsylvania Court Dismantles Rule of Capture for Hydraulic Fracturing

By: Sabrina Tour Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the rule of capture is inapplicable to hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking. The longstanding rule of capture means that oil and gas resources belong to the person able to capture them through drilling wells. The rule of capture protects drillers from liability for draining of free-flowing oil …

Fraudulent Transfer

Obtained favorable settlement for steel fabricator in fraudulent transfer and alter-ego case.

Duty to Defend

The firm obtained a summary judgment against insurer for failure to defend on a directors’ and officers’ liability policy.

Crumb Rubber Fields – An Emerging Mass Tort?

Bloomberg News recently interviewed my law partner Doug Daniels and I for an article entitled “Playing Fields and Cancer – An Emerging Mass Tort?”  The article examines whether crumb rubber synthetic playing fields could be the next mass tort considering the effects these fields have on public health and the environment.  The chances are good these fields become vulnerable to litigation, …

Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $55 Million in Talcum Powder Trial

Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a U.S. jury on Monday to pay $55 million to a woman who said that using the company’s talc-powder products for feminine hygiene caused her to develop ovarian cancer. The verdict, which J&J plans to appeal, was the second straight trial loss for the company, which is facing about 1,200 lawsuits accusing it of not …

Federal Judge Stengel Finds for Plaintiff on Evidentiary Issues in Tylenol Liver Damage Action

A Pennsylvania judge has issued a number of evidentiary findings in favor of the plaintiff in a bellwether Tylenol liver damage case, ruling in part that the plaintiff may present evidence of adverse event reports, fraud on the FDA, employee compensation, and other lawsuits. In an April 19 order, Judge Lawrence Stengel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern …

Fresenius Settles All Granuflo Claims for $250 Million

Fresenius Medical Care agrees to pay $250 million to resolve U.S. litigation related to its GranuFlo and NaturaLyte products. Under the terms of the agreement, 97% of the plaintiffs must agree to the settlement by July 2016 to receive funding in August 2016. Insurers will pay $220M (88%) of the total settlement amount.The company intends to record a $60M charge …

3 Federal Agencies Officially Begin Researching the Danger of Crumb Rubber Fields

  Finally the government is getting involved in researching crumb rubber fields.  NBC News reports, “Three federal agencies are teaming up to investigate the safety of crumb rubber artificial turf used in playing fields and playground all across the country.” “The Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced an ‘action plan’ on …

CA Judge Allows Paralyzed Player’s Claim Against Pop Warner to Continue

Is this the beginning of the end for youth tackle football? It certainly could be. A cultural sea change appears to be happening regarding our country’s true national pastime. In what may be considered a major shift in legal liability, “a California judge has ruled that a teenage football player who was paralyzed by an on-field hit can proceed to …

Harvard Study Suggests Link Between E-Cigarettes and Lung Disease

E-cigarettes are coming.  Some say they are already here.  Especially if you visit an average high school parking lot after school. USA Today article on E-Cigarettes states how flavored e-cigarettes may seem like an alternative to smoking, but researchers warn that flavored e-cigarettes may not be worth the unknown long-term risks. Researchers at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of …

VOLKSWAGEN UPDATE: MORE CARS MAY BE AFFECTED

The New York Times and other media outlets are reporting that more Volkswagen cars than originally thought may be affected with the cheating emissions software. Originally, only cars and light commercial vehicles equipped with a diesel motor line known as the EA 189 had the illegal software.  However, Volkswagen said it was investigating whether some versions of another diesel motor …

HEALTH ALERT: Herbal Supplements Send Over 20,000 People Annually to the ER

Herbal supplements of all kinds continue to be in the news and not in a good way. Today, The New York Times is reporting that a new government study reveals how dietary supplements lead to more than 20,000 ER visits annually and often involved young people seeking weight loss and energy improvement. The new study was published in The New …

UPDATE: Actos Settlement Reportedly Hits 97% Threshold

Enough claimants have signed on to trigger a $2.4 billion payment from Takeda Pharmaceuticals to settle a large dose of the litigation pending against the drugmaker over the alleged negative effects of its Actos diabetes drug, lawyers for thousands of the plaintiffs have announced. On Oct. 7, Meyers & Flowers, a law firm based in St. Charles, Ill., in Chicago’s …

New Volkswagen CEO Says Emissions Scandal Could Signal the End of the Company

USA Today is reporting that Volkswagen’s new CEO, Hans Dieter Poetsch, admits how the Volkswagen emissions scandal could cripple the world’s largest automaker to the point that it is forced to shut down. Poetsch warned managers how the automaker’s diesel-emission scandal poses “an existence-threatening crisis for the company” as new details emerged about how the debacle unfolded. The New York …

ALERT: Volkswagen Says 11 Million Cars Worldwide Are Affected in Emissions Scandal

The world’s largest carmaker is in trouble. The German carmaker now admits that 11 million of its diesel cars were equipped with software that was used to circumvent emissions tests. Previously, Volkswagen had said that the problem only affected 500,000 vehicles in the US. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that it will ask the company to recall 500,000 …

More than 96% of Claimants Opt-In to ACTOS Resolution Program

FiercePharma is reporting that Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (collectively “Takeda”), today announced that more than 96 percent of eligible claimants have opted into the ACTOS (pioglitazone HCl) product liability resolution program that was announced on April 28, 2015. Takeda now is evaluating the submissions to determine whether they satisfy various criteria specified under terms …

Boston Scientific Ordered to Pay in Settlement Over Mesh

Disclaimer: Results of this case are not necessarily indicative of future cases. A Delaware jury awarded a 51-year old bank teller $100 million over physical and emotional injuries she sustained from Boston Scientific’s vaginal mesh inserts. The $100 million settlement, one of the largest jury verdicts of 2015, consists of $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive …

NEWS FLASH: Depakote Jury Reaches Verdict in Spina Bifida Case

Disclaimer: Results of this case are not necessarily indicative of future cases. A stunning development out of St. Louis where a jury awarded a 12-year-old plaintiff Maddision Schmidt $15 million in compensatory damages and $23 million in punitive damages for birth defects she suffered from her mother taking Depakote while pregnant. The verdict represents a devastating blow to Abbott Labs’ …

First Tylenol Bellwether Trial Set for June 22, 2015

The first Tylenol bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation (MDL) is fast approaching and lawyers from both sides are gearing up. The Pennsylvania trial involves whether the acetaminophen in various Tylenol products from Johnson & Johnson (J&J), and its subsidiary McNeill Consumer Healthcare, caused acute liver failure. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel ordered jury selection on June 22, 2015 for Rana …

Promise I’m NOT Blowing Smoke: Competitive E-Cigarette Smoking

I promise I’m not making this up. Grown men, seemingly employed grown men, actually compete to see who has the biggest smoke plume from an e-cigarette drag. Really? It’s called “cloud chasing” or “competitive vaping” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Competitive” as if it’s a sport. Kind of like darts is a sport. Or billiards, video games, and poker. Anyway, …