John O'Brien News
Broken dishwasher costs landlords $350K personal injury verdict
HOUSTON - A woman who received 22 stitches after a dishwasher door fell on her leg will get $350,000 from the landlords who never repaired the appliance, a Houston jury has ruled.
FTC's challenge of mattress merger put to bed
HOUSTON - The new-look Federal Trade Commission has given up on a Biden-era challenge to the merger of Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm.
Judge refuses 'do-over' in J&J's failed $9B talc settlement
HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) - The Houston bankruptcy judge who denied Johnson & Johnson's $9 billion plan to settle tens of thousands of ovarian cancer claims has now rejected calls from those affected to reconsider.
Court fight starts over whether key asbestos evidence will be gone forever
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - Companies facing asbestos lawsuits are off to court to prevent the destruction of evidence they say is needed to defend themselves.
Fifth Circuit OKs Corpus Christi dredging project over Native Americans' objections
NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court has approved the expansion of a major oil terminal in the Port of Corpus Christi over complaints the project would cause environmental harm and complicate the spiritual journeys of Native Americans.
Asbestos evidence could soon vanish, with defendants alleging it's part of a cover-up
WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - The planned destruction of evidence in asbestos cases would keep defendants from finding fraud by plaintiff lawyers, defendants say, as a group of state attorneys general have joined their fight to preserve it.
School district fights lawsuit after student dies from choking on rubber glove
HOUSTON - A Houston-area school district calls the idea it recklessly left out used rubber gloves "pure speculation" in a lawsuit over a student who died after choking on one.
$25M goes up in flames for Exxon in lawsuits over fatal 2013 explosion
BEAUMONT - Exxon lost $25 million in one court ruling this month after a Texas appeals court found a contractor's insurance policy didn't extend to the oil and gas giant's settlement of lawsuits over a deadly 2013 explosion in Beaumont.
Houston still fighting blame for speeding cop's crash kills other driver
NEW ORLEANS - Houston can't claim it is immune from liability for the death of a motorist struck and killed by one of its police officers who had just arrested someone for driving while intoxicated.
How can an investment firm be liable for a plane crash?
HOUSTON - An employee of the financial services firm Raymond James & Associates who crashed his plane and killed five others was working at the time, a Texas appeals court has ruled in the ensuing wrongful death litigation.
$9B for ovarian cancer claims rejected by judge; J&J heads back to court
HOUSTON (Legal Newsline) - A "heavily negotiated" plan to end tens of thousands of ovarian cancer claims with a $9 billion fund that has "significant support" can't be confirmed, a Houston bankruptcy judge has ruled.
Texas not a 'good neighbor' under ozone law
NEW ORLEANS - Texas and Louisiana will have to come up with better plans for handling ozone, a federal appeals court has ruled.
'Giant Killa!' law firm fights Beasley Allen lawsuit after partnership blows up in J&J talc bankruptcy
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Legal Newsline) - Disappointment can't be the basis for a lawsuit, a personal injury firm says after being sued by lawyers it once teamed with to push asbestos litigation against Johnson & Johnson.
'Draggieland' held at A&M, as schools wrestle with Trump executive order
HOUSTON - Though Texas A&M University tried to stop it, an annual drag show was held last night thanks to a federal judge who found the school's stance violated the First Amendment.
Cases over cancer cluster at Kashmere Gardens were missing something
HOUSTON - With an appeals court ruling in hand, engineering firms are hoping to shut down mass tort lawyers who sued them over the alleged deadly spread of cancer-causing chemicals at Houston's Kashmere Gardens.
Filshie Clip plaintiffs lose arument against preemption of their lawsuits
HOUSTON - Over the objections of women hoping to blame the maker of a birth-control medical device for their injuries, a federal judge has decided federal law preempts their claims.
Navy refutes blame for murder of recruiter's wife
HOUSTON - The U.S. Navy says it followed policy when it learned a troubled recruiter was armed, as it fights a wrongful death lawsuit from his murder victim.
Beasley Allen fights new votes to approve J&J's $9B talc bankruptcy
HOUSTON - Lawyers opposing a $9 billion plan that keeps ovarian cancer lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson out of the hands of juries and judges are upset other firms have clients now voting to approve it.
Get out of this court, Fifth Circuit tells insurer trying to avoid paying millions to men attacked by bouncer
NEW ORLEANS - An insurance company that made a bad bet on a Harris County personal injury lawsuit can't block the victorious plaintiffs from seeking the missing $2.2 million from a jury's verdict.
Contractor wins the case of the flying rebar
HOUSTON - A state appeals court has ruled against a driver who tried to sue a contractor for a 100-pound piece of rebar that fell off an overpass and onto his truck.