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Texas Free Speech Law Can t End $10M Medical Software Row
Law360 (May 18, 2021, 4:31 PM EDT) A Texas appellate court on Tuesday determined a state free speech law can t bring an end to a medical software developer s lawsuit alleging a client wrongly tried to reverse engineer the technology it spent nine years and $10 million developing.
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals rejected arguments the claims implicated the right of association and thus could trigger dismissal under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, an anti-SLAPP statute. The ruling allows Meridian Hospital Systems Corp. to proceed with its claims against Post Acute Medical LLC and two affiliates, which include alleged misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, unfair competition, trademark dilution, quantum.
A split Texas appellate panel has affirmed Walgreen Co.'s defeat of a personal injury suit brought by a customer who slipped and fell in the drug store, rejecting arguments that deleted video evidence should have precluded an early end to the suit.
A records database company has asked a Texas appellate court to toss out an $820,000 jury verdict awarded to its former partner company for a failed project, arguing the jury was "confused" by an expert witness who presented an alternative damages model not based on the parties' contract.
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Apache Gets $80.4M Jury Award Knocked Down To $13.5M
Law360 (May 11, 2021, 5:18 PM EDT) A jury s $80.4 million award against Apache Corp. in a dispute over the construction of a Louisiana gas well and processing facility was knocked down to about $13.5 million Tuesday when a Texas appellate court partially sided with Apache.
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston trimmed the award in favor of Castex Offshore Inc. after holding that it failed to prove Apache engaged in willful misconduct as it related to the drilling of the well. It upheld the damages connected to the jury s finding that there had been willful misconduct regarding the construction of the processing facility.
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Texas Court Rejects Challenge To Firefighter Bargaining Law
Law360 (May 7, 2021, 7:59 PM EDT) A Texas law governing how cities negotiate with firefighter and police unions does not violate the state constitution by giving legislative power to judges, a Texas appellate court ruled, rejecting the city of Houston s arguments in an appeal related to a bargaining dispute.
In a decision issued Thursday, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court ruling that denied Houston s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit by the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association accusing the city of violating state law with its wage proposals. Houston argued that provisions of the Fire and Police Employee Relations Act allowing courts to impose.