I previously wrote about Judge Lynn Hughes of the Southern District of Texas here and here. Again, he has ordered no discovery in a lawsuit that could not function without discovery. And, again, he has been overruled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. See opinion here. The Fifth Circuit seems to be
Litigation and trial practice
Wendy Davis Awarded $260,000 in Attorney Fees
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Wendy Davis has been awarded $260,000 in a re-districting lawsuit from 2011. She had requested $478,000. I previously wrote about her lawsuit, along with lawsuits by various civil rights organizations here. A few politicians and a few civil rights groups won their lawsuit alleging that the Texas legislature discriminated against minorities when they revised…
A Plaintiff Must Show Respect for the Employer
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Discrimination lawsuits are hard to win. I have written many blog posts about that difficulty. One federal judge recently even wrote that Judges are killing Title VII. See my blog post about Judge Kopf’s blog post. Prosecuting a discrimination case is an uphill climb. So, it is important that any plaintiff do nothing to…
“Ghostwriting” Not Allowed for Plaintiff Without a Lawyer
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
One of the unique aspects of employment law is that many persons enter into the judicial system representing themselves. An old saying holds that a lawyer who would represent himself has a fool for a client. That is, someone who tries to represent himself will make many mistakes, because that person is too emotionally involved…
SAWS Appeals Court Ruling, Again
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
SAWS has decided to appeal the ruling by the Fourth Court of Appeals regarding its million dollar jury verdict. I wrote about that appellate ruling here. SAWS has hired former Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson to represent it before the Texas Supreme Court. Even before he became Chief Justice, Mr. Jefferson was one of the…
Judges are Killing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
A federal judge writes a nice blog on federal judges. See herculesandtheumpire.com. He discusses the studies on employment cases in the Northern District of Georgia. I wrote about that study here.
Judge Richard Kopf titles his blog post, "Judges are Killing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." The judge wrote…
SAWS Defense Costs $492,000
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
SAWS (San Antonio Water System) recently lost the apeal of their million dollar loss in Bexar County distirict court. I previously wrote about that appellate decision here.
That defense has cost SAWS $492,000 over four years. This amount includes the trial, the appeal and the EEOC charge. See San Antonio Express News report…
Fourth Court Affirms Jury Verdict
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
In 2012, a Bexar County jury awarded a former SAWS employee $1.6 million in damages in a retaliation lawsuit. Debra Nicholas had opposed possible discrimination by her employer, San Antonio Water System in 2006. Her job was eliminated in 2009. SAWS claimed her job was eliminated as part of a re-organization. But, her job was…
What We Can Learn from the Government Shutdown
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Lawyers are not the best negotiators, even though we are always negotiating something. When I get into settlement talks, I am often surprised at how many folks do not ever negotiate. I often use the example of yard sales and tell clients a settlement is like a yard sale, but with bigger numbers. Some clients…
Parties Should Avoid Hyperbole on Appeal
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
In the litigation business, us lawyers should avoid hyperbole. Unlike the lawyers on television, exagerration is often counter-productive in a real court. Avoiding hyperbole is even more important when prosecuting an appeal. The lawyers for State Farm in Bennett v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co., No. 13-3047 (6th Cir. 9/24/13) overlooked that basic…