News from January 2018
Former Donnelly Financial employee alleges she was retaliated against for taking medical leave
HOUSTON – A Euless woman alleges she lost her job with a Houston company after returning from a medical leave.
Pharmacy technician alleges Deliverit Transportation owes unpaid wages
HOUSTON – A pharmacy technician has filed a class-action lawsuit against her former employer over allegations that she was not paid for all hours worked.
Workers allege Lyondell Refining Co. LLC, others failed to maintain roof that collapsed on them
HOUSTON – Three workers are seeking more than $1 million after they were injured in a roof collapse at a Houston property.
Master chef files suit over use of Ruggles Green mark
HOUSTON – A Houston master chef seeks to nullify the terms of an agreement over the use of a trademark.
Consumer claims Recovery Service Bureau falsely represented intention to take legal action in collection letter
BEAUMONT – A Hardin County consumer has filed a class-action lawsuit against a debt collector over allegations of abusive, deceptive and unfair collection practices.
Estate of man killed in officer-involved shooting file wrongful death suit against Gladewater officer, city
MARSHALL – The heirs of a man fatally shot by a Gladewater police officer in 2016 have failed a wrongful death suit.
Woman seeks more than $200,000 from CHCA Bayshore LP over alleged fall injuries
HOUSTON – A Houston woman alleges she was injured in a medical facility after tripping on a rubber divider.
Appellate court reverses injunction in Inhance Technologies trade secret ruling
HOUSTON – The Texas 1st District Court of Appeals has reversed a permanent injunction and remanded a lower court’s ruling of injunctive relief for further proceedings in a trade secrets lawsuit.
Woman alleges she was forced to resign from Texas Department of Agriculture because of hostile work environment
HOUSTON – A Richmond woman alleges she was forced to resign because of exposure to mold in her office building.
Justices free TSU from suit brought over 2015 shooting death on campus
HOUSTON – Texas Southern University has immunity from a lawsuit alleging it should have done more to protect students and prevent a fatal on campus shooting, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals recently concluded.
Jefferson County 172nd District Court Docket: February 2018
BETTY J ANTHONY ET AL vs. A W CHESTERTON ET AL
Lamar University granted immunity in suit alleging professor denied tenure for opposing GRE
BEAUMONT – A Texas appellate court has granted immunity to Lamar University in a lawsuit brought by a professor, who alleges he was denied tenure because he opposed the Graduate Record Examinations on racial grounds.
Non-attorney questions constitutionality of not being able to run for district attorney
BEAUMONT – Not being an attorney shouldn’t exclude someone from running for district attorney, according to an appeal made by Michael David Bellow Jr. to the Texas Supreme Court.
Wells Fargo breach case remanded by appellate court; credit amount, debt don't add up
HOUSTON – Wells Fargo Bank NA will have to explain how two breach-of-contract lawsuit defendants could have racked up $81,070.79 in unpaid debt on an alleged $30,000 business line of credit after the 14th Court of Appeals reversed a summary judgment entered in Wells Fargo’s favor and sent the case back to 113th District Court, Harris County for further proceedings.
Court allows negligence suit against law firm Schiff Hardin to proceed
MARSHALL – The Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas partially granted and partially denied a law firm's motion to dismiss a claim against it filed by an insurance company.
Ninth District Court of Appeals upholds verdict favoring Neches Federal Credit Union
BEAUMONT – The Texas 9th District Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s “take-nothing” judgment favoring Neches Federal Credit Union in a lawsuit over a home construction project.
San Antonio asks federal appellate court to reconsider opinion in hotel occupancy tax verdict
NEW ORLEANS –The city of San Antonio has asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to overturn an $84 million verdict in the city’s dispute with online travel companies over Texas' hotel-occupancy tax ordinances.
Judge denies dismissal of complaint against Don Herring LTD over marketing mailing
DALLAS – A class action lawsuit against a Dallas-area auto dealership group accused of ignoring the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act by trawling through state motor vehicle records to find potential customers is moving ahead following a judge's ruling earlier this month.
Paxton part of coalition asking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reduce utility rates
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking part in a bipartisan coalition aimed at reducing consumers’ utility rates as a result of recent tax reforms.
None Dare Call It Politics: Anatomy of a Witch Hunt, Part 3
On November 4, 2014, when the 51-year-old Ken Paxton was triumphantly elected Attorney General of Texas, defeating his Democrat opponent, the euphoniously named Sam Houston, by over 20 percentage points, the conservative movement in the Lone Star State had a new rising star. Paxton’s enemies were worried; the Tea Party favorite, an impressive University of Virginia law school graduate, seemed bound for the Governor’s mansion, a prospect that made the state’s centrist GOP Establishment aghast. Paxton’s political career had been nothing short of meteoric. First elected to public office in 2002 with the support of grass-roots activists and evangelicals, Paxton represented his suburban Dallas district in the Texas House of Representatives for a decade before winning a coveted promotion to the exclusive 31-member Texas Senate in 2012.