David Yates News
Jefferson County picks Trump over Hillary, barely
BEAUMONT – Primarily a Democratic stronghold, Jefferson County voters favored Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the General Election by the slightest of margins.
Reports show Wortham outraised Timaeus in effort to claim judgeship
BEAUMONT – The latest round of campaign finance reports show Baylor Wortham, a Democrat heavily funded by Jefferson County trial lawyers, significantly out raised his Republican counterpart in his successful bid to claim the 136th District Court bench.
South Texas College of Law keeps ‘Houston’ in name, just moves location
HOUSTON – Last month, a federal judge granted the University of Houston’s motion for a preliminary injunction in a trademark case brought after South Texas College of Law changed its name to the Houston College of Law.
Beaumont ISD named in potential ‘spanked’ lawsuit
BEAUMONT – The Beaumont Independent School District may soon be a defendant in a lawsuit accusing an elementary school teacher of spanking a 6-year old student “without provocation.” Individually and as next of friend for their adopted son, Nora and Todd Trahan filed a petition for depositions on Nov. 7 in Jefferson County District Court.
Ninth Court: Judge ordered discovery of irrelevant information in Mostyn Hurricane Rita suit
BEAUMONT – The Ninth Court of Appeals has found a lower court abused its discretion by ordering “overbroad” discovery in a Hurricane Rita lawsuit brought against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
SCTOUS no help in effort to reinstate $32M verdict against Domino’s
Last March, the Texas Ninth Court of Appeals axed one of top 100 national jury verdicts of 2013, dismissing Domino’s Pizza from a Beaumont lawsuit brought by Raghurami Reddy.
Amber Mostyn shells out $400K to Hillary Victory Fund
HOUSTON – Only days after Amber Mostyn, the wife of mega-attorney Steve Mostyn, was quoted as saying politicians spend an “inordinate” amount of time fundraising, she donated $400,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund.
Appeal in Glen Morgan tax suit against Jefferson County abated, case remanded to effectuate settlement
BEAUMONT – An appeal in a property tax suit brought by one of Southeast Texas’ most well known trial lawyers has been abated and remanded back to a district court, where the case has been tied up in litigation for the past decade.
Discovery order too broad in Mostyn Law hail cases, Texas SC finds
AUSTIN – National Lloyds will no longer have to fork over its internal management reports to The Mostyn Law Firm, with the Texas Supreme Court recently finding the information being sought by dozens of hail suit plaintiffs was “overbroad.” In the spring of 2012, two hailstorms rocked Hidalgo County, giving rise to thousands of lawsuits against insurance companies.
Texas nets $2.8M in nationwide settlement with Hyundai, Kia over false fuel economy claims
AUSTIN— On Oct. 27 Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the Consumer Protection Division of his office obtained $2.8 million for the state of Texas as part of a $41.2 million multistate settlement with automakers Hyundai and Kia.
Rio Hondo ISD lands $1.5M settlement from TWIA suit; despite assurance, district not given ‘same exact contract’ as Brownsville ISD
RIO HONDO – Mostyn Law and Gilberto Hinojosa will reap 40 percent of the $1.5 million settlement Rio Hondo ISD obtained from its Hurricane Dolly suit – a percentage five points higher than what Brownsville ISD had to pay, even though Hinojosa, the area attorney who pitched the suit to the school board, said the district was getting the “exact same contract” as Brownsville ISD.
Appeals court affirms injunction in Kristen Paris dram shop suit
BEAUMONT - The Ninth Court of Appeals recently affirmed an injunction obtained in a dram shop suit brought on Kristen Paris, the Nederland teen who was killed by a drunk driver.
State Farm trial winning streak ends at 16, defeats two more Mostyn hail claims before losing
DALLAS – For more than a year now, State Farm Lloyds has been battling the surge of mass litigation being brought against all insurers within the state, capturing 16 trial wins before recently losing.
Ninth Court upholds $400K jury award in Ike suit, Mostyn Law reaped $237K in fees
BEAUMONT - In October 2014, a jury found in favor of plaintiffs Rene Lampson and Justina Henriquez, levying a $400,000 verdict against National Security Fire & Casualty for failing to properly reimburse the Port Arthur residents following Hurricane Ike.
AG Healey asks court to reconsider discovery order in Exxon climate change case
ABILENE – Earlier this month, a federal judge found Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey might have acted in bad faith when subpoenaing ExxonMobil, which the Democratic AG contends buried information on climate change for the past 40 years.
Insurer wants hail attorney to show authority after suit brought on behalf of dead man
BROWNSVILLE – The troubles surrounding Kent Livesay seemingly continue to mount, as an insurer recently filed a motion requesting the Texas hail attorney show his authority to represent a man who died six years prior to the filing date of litigation brought on his behalf.
Valero moves for summary judgment in suit brought by Layne Walker
BEAUMONT- Valero Energy has moved for summary judgment in litigation brought by a former district judge, who sued the energy giant for breach of contract, seeking to extract more than $6 million in damages.
Mostyn Law brings $1M trip & fall against Casa Ole
BEAUMONT – On behalf of an area resident, Mostyn Law recently filed suit against Casa Ole, seeking up to $1 million in damages from the Mexican restaurant for a trip and fall injury.
Texas AG intervenes in suit to stop Austin from permitting city employees to work for union at taxpayer expense
AUSTIN – On Oct. 18 Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in a lawsuit against the city of Austin, challenging the city’s labor agreement with Austin Firefighters Association, Local 975.
Ninth Court to examine State Farm appeal of Mostyn Law’s $260K verdict win
BEAUMONT – The Ninth Court of Appeals is set to review a State Farm Lloyds appeal, which seeks to wipe a $260k jury verdict on the grounds that the opinions of the plaintiff’s expert witnesses were “unreliable and inadmissible.” The appeal stems from a week long trial against State Farm that took place in May 2015.