AUSTIN – On Feb. 23 Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Bob Borochoff, Molly Curl, Phillip Holt and Matt Moore for terms set to expire on Feb. 1, 2022, to the Finance Commission of Texas.
AUSTIN – Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has requested an advisory opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton on the constitutionality of a volunteer justice court chaplaincy program and prayer given as part of the opening ceremonies.
AUSTIN - In the escalating arms race between trial lawyers and tort reformers, plaintiff’s attorneys have developed a new tactic – abusing discovery as a weapon to force settlements, says one expert.
AUSTIN – On Feb. 11 Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a settlement with Dallas-based MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc., resolving a multistate investigation focused on MoneyGram’s role in transferring money from consumers to people defrauding them.
AUSTIN – On Feb. 5 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a $470 million joint state-federal settlement with lender HSBC to address mortgage origination, servicing and foreclosure abuses.
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton announced earlier this month that daily fantasy sports leagues constitute prohibited gambling in Texas, adding to the recent onslaught of allegations against the online sports community.
AUSTIN– Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released an advisory opinion on Jan. 19 essentially stating fantasy sport gambling is illegal under Texas law. According to section 47.02 of the Penal Code, a person commits an offense if he or she makes a bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant in a game or contest. “Because the outcome of games in daily fantasy sports leagues depends partially on chance, an individual's payment of a fee to parti
AUSTIN – Gov. Greg Abbott, who frequently sued the Obama Administration as attorney general, had a few words for the president on Tuesday, Jan. 5, after he announced his plans for executive actions on gun control.
AUSTIN -- A Texas plaintiff has decided to appeal a ruling by a Texas appellate court affirming the decision that the state’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline is not required to disclose recommendations to complainants who file grievances against Texas attorneys.
AUSTIN — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have joined 25 other states asking a federal appeals court to stay the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Clean Power Plan.” The response comes two months after many of those same states sued the EPA, arguing the Power Plan drastically reshuffles the nation’s energy portfolio and does so without congressional authority. Morrisey's office says the bipartisan multi-state coalition believes the harm
On Dec. 16 Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse (TALA) announced a new statewide consumer education campaign, urging Texans to “Don’t Let a Lawyer Be Your Doctor.” Small business owners, health care providers and lawsuit reform advocates have joined forces to press for greater consumer awareness in personal injury lawyer advertising.
AUSTIN – Houston can punish air polluters as criminals in a manner consistent with state regulators who impose civil penalties, the city argued at the Supreme Court on Sept. 2. Houston seeks Court approval of an ordinance creating an agency to enforce air quality regulations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Businesses with state emission permits have delayed enforcement since 2008. At oral argument, the theory of city counsel Robert Higgason that city and state enforcement wo
AUSTIN – Liberties and rights of Texans depend on general diffusion of knowledge, according to the state Constitution, but its vague requirement of an efficient school system has trapped Texas in a cycle of laws and lawsuits. Now the Supreme Court must decide whether to uphold current school funding law or scrap it and order the Legislature to write new law. The Justices heard oral argument from 10 lawyers on Sept. 1, over a Travis County court order declaring current law unconstitutional. Re
AUSTIN – Justices at the Supreme Court of Texas must decide whether Houston can enforce an ordinance creating its own air quality agency. The Justices plan to hear oral argument on Sept. 2, over a First District appellate court decision in the city’s favor. The city council passed an ordinance in 2007, requiring owners of facilities within the scope of state law to register with city health officers and pay fees. Sponsors promised to enforce the Texas Clean Air Act better than the state did.
