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Judge Lopez: No Do-Overs for Lawyers in J&J Talc Powder Bankruptcy Dispute - Less than 48 hours after lawyers representing some of the thousands of women claiming that Johnson & Johnson talc powder caused their ovarian cancer asked a Houston judge for “a do-over” and to reconsider his ruling dismissing their efforts to reach a settlement agreement through the bankruptcy court, the judge issued his answer Thursday: No can do. April 17, 2025
Lynn Pinker Accuses AAA Arbitrator of More ‘Egregious Conduct’ in Dickey’s Case - Lynn Pinker partner Mary Goodrich Nix told the AAA its arbitrator refused to grant her any accommodation or continuance when she was in the hospital with her fatally ill father. She also told the administrator of the arbitration between her client, Dickey’s, and a franchisee that arbitrator Gary Leydig referred to her in an email as “Ms. Dix” and said he “has never apologized or acknowledged this, despite having been confronted with how offensive it was.” April 17, 2025
Another Case of Missing Cases? Fifth Court of Appeals Wants Clarification - Just six days after telling parties in a separate appeal that the court could not locate a handful of cases cited by the appellant, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas on Wednesday told a man representing himself in a child custody case that it couldn’t locate eight cases he cited. April 17, 2025
Houston Jury Awards $5.9M in Family Dispute - Jurors sat through a four-day trial in Harris County District Judge Michael Gomez’ court before siding with the plaintiffs and awarding them $5.9 million in damages. The case centered on the disputed transfer of 45 acres of property near Seabrook, Texas. April 17, 2025
Mikal Watts to J&J Bankruptcy Judge: Give Us a ‘Do Over’ - Some plaintiffs’ lawyers representing tens of thousands of women claiming that Johnson & Johnson talc powder caused their ovarian cancer have asked a Houston judge to give them a second chance. Attorneys representing different groups of women asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez to reverse his March 31 decision to dismiss the Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition filed by Red River Talc, a subsidiary of J&J, but to allow the parties to either fix the flaws in the previous petition or to send the entire case to mediation. But an opposing group of lawyers who also represent more than 20,000 women, including 465 women in the Dallas area, told The Texas Lawbook Wednesday that this new effort to reopen the bankruptcy is just another attempt by J&J “to force unreasonably low settlements on women already suffering from life-threatening illness and financial hardship.” April 16, 2025Update: X Hit With $105M Verdict in Dallas Patent Infringement Case - VidStream Inc., the successor to a bankrupt tech company, said the social media behemoth formerly known as Twitter infringed two patents to streamline the transfer of user-generated videos to online platforms and TV. April 16, 2025
Centerpiece
Q&A with Trial Lawyer Bob Hilliard - Robert C. Hilliard has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was on the forefront of litigation against General Motors over its faulty ignition switches. And he helped free a man from prison for a fatal car wreck that Hilliard proved was the result of an auto defect in a lawsuit against Toyota that netted an $11.4 million jury verdict. But a story of a serendipitous connection between an early client and one of his colleagues is the one he tells to convey how fulfilling his legal career has been. April 18, 2025Bill to Limit Medical Cost Damages in Tort Cases Advances - Senators broke along party lines in advancing legislation to stop “nuclear verdicts.” Senate Bill 30 would limit recoverable medical expenses to 300 percent of Medicare rates, adjusted for inflation. Supporters said the bill is needed to bring down insurance rates, while critics said it would remove discretion from judges and juries to make decisions on facts in individual cases. April 17, 2025
Expert Voices
Texas Legislature Considers Entity Governance Legislation and Business Court Amendments - The 2025 Texas Legislature is considering a host of bills that relate to the governance of Texas entities. For lawyers who have a taste for entity governance issues, your mouths are probably salivating over the prospects of the Legislature passing several bills. In addition, an important bill that would amend various statutes relating to the Texas business court is also under consideration. April 15, 2025
Business Court Update - It may be that no American court outside the United States Supreme Court has been more talked about over the last year than the Texas Business Court. The court opened its doors for business on Sept. 1, 2024, and received its first filing at 12:03 in the morning that same day. Since then, it has been off to a roaring start. As of this writing, more than 105 cases have been filed in the court, of which more than 75 are actively pending. April 9, 2025
