News from September 2017
Desiccated by Judicial Dereliction
Originalism is a two-way street. Judges wishing to interpret the Constitution in accordance with its original public meaning must not import into their decisions policy proscriptions not actually derived from the text and structure of that document. Just as important is that textualism and originalism require judges to give force to all provisions of the Constitution, and not pick and choose which clauses to enforce.
Texas AG praises 5th Circuit ruling on SB 4
AUSTIN – On Sept. 25, Attorney General Ken Paxton praised a unanimous 3-to-0 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that allows Texas to enforce the core provisions of Senate Bill 4 while the state appeals a lower court ruling that blocked the law banning sanctuary cities from taking effect Sept. 1.
National Trial Lawyers honors 17 Baron & Budd attorneys
&&& DALLAS – Seventeen attorneys from the law firm of Baron & Budd recently were honored by the National Trial Lawyers, an organization that is comprised of trial lawyers from around the country.
Appeals court upholds summary judgment for Old American County Mutual Fire Insurance, Statewide Claims Service
HOUSTON – The 1st District Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling in favor of two insurance companies in a dispute filed by an allegedly injured motorist.
Two thumbs down equal two thumbs up
“Poorly produced!” – Jeffrey Simon
“A political hit job!” – Charles Siegel
The comments above may not seem like rave reviews for an early screening of a new documentary, but that's because context is missing.
The first thing you need to know is that the film, which is still in production, is entitled UnSettled and offers an inside look at “the strange world of asbestos lawsuits” – and an unflattering portrait of asbestos attorneys.
Former Aladdin Food Management Services LLC employee alleges retaliation for reporting harassment
MARSHALL – A Tyler woman alleges that she was retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment by a supervisor.
Construction firm demands payment from City of Bellaire for services performed at park
HOUSTON – A construction firm claims the City of Bellaire owes it back payments for work done on a park, recent Harris County District Court records show.
Recent patent infringement cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas
MARSHALL DIVISION SEPT. 11 RFID TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS, LLC V. FIESTA MART, L.L.C. 2:17-cv-00637-JRG
Baytown woman claims Great Clips denied her service because of race
HOUSTON – A Baytown woman is suing a hair salon after the business allegedly denied her service because of her race.
Woman seeks more than $200,000 after she fell stepping from Houston elevator
HOUSTON – A Houston woman alleges that she was injured when exiting an elevator in an underground parking garage.
GKL Recovery & Acquisitions alleged to have used misleading collection practices
BROWNSVILLE – A Houston consumer alleges a letter sent from California collection agency misled her into believer she needed to pay an alleged debt immediately or the amount would increase.
GNRK Export Truck & Equipment Sales, others alleged to have failed to pay for trucks
HOUSTON – A Houston couple alleges they were not compensated for the sale of trucks.
Premium Glacier Inc., Ice Cap Enterprises SRL alleged to have failed to pay loans
AMARILLO – A Texas lender claims that three loans executed to two Canadian businesses were not paid in full.
Phoenix Financial Services alleged to have threatened woman with legal action to pay alleged debt
HOUSTON – A Richmond consumer claims a national debt collection company unlawfully threatened her with a lawsuit.
Federal Circuit finds Gilstrap abused discretion by refusing to transfer patent suit
EAST TEXAS – On Sept. 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that Judge Rodney Gilstrap, Eastern District of Texas, abused his discretion by refusing to transfer a patent lawsuit.
Texas AG snags $9.5M judgment halting synthetic drug sales at Houston smoke shop
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced that his office obtained a permanent injunction stopping Good Timez Boutique & Smoke Shop, its owners and landlord from selling highly-addictive and dangerous synthetic marijuana to consumers in Houston.
Jefferson County 136th District Court Docket: October 2017
MICAH TOWNLEY, ATTY TERRELL, B ADAM vs. TROY J BELLANGER ET AL, NO COUNSEL, ATTY WILKINS, GREG C
Toxic tort litigator Jeffrey Simon calls 'Unsettled' asbestos documentary ‘poorly produced’ following screening
DALLAS – Perhaps unsurprisingly, a couple of Texas’ most well-known toxic tort litigators had a few choice words after watching the unveiling of "Unsettled," a documentary offering a glimpse “Inside the Strange World of Asbestos Lawsuits.”
JC Judge refuses to dissolve TROs against nursing homes that allegedly failed to evacuate elderly during Harvey
BEAUMONT – A district judge in Jefferson County has refused to dissolve temporary restraining orders obtained against two nursing homes, which allegedly failed to evacuate their elderly residents as the remnants of Hurricane Harvey flooded Southeast Texas.
Two former employees of Boomer Enterprise seek allegedly unpaid overtime
HOUSTON – Former employees of a Texas corporation allege that they are owed unpaid overtime compensation.