In the recent unanimous opinion in Gelboim v. Bank of America Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff in a consolidated federal multi-district litigation (MDL) case had the right to immediately appeal the dismissal to the U.S. Court of Appeals, despite the fact that other MDL claims were still pending. This opinion, written…
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The financial crisis of 2008, widely considered the worst since the Great Depression, stemmed from the securitization of risky mortgage loans sold to investors at wildly inflated prices. In essence, mortgage companies eager for even more business began encouraging borrowers to take out mortgages on homes they could not afford. These subprime mortgages – called…
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In an opinion issued today, the Texas First Court of Appeals in Houston held that the trial judge in an underinsured motorist insurance case did not abuse his discretion by declining to sever and abate the plaintiff’s claims under the Texas Insurance Code for misrepresentation of policy terms. This case is a significant development in…
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In an ongoing lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a Texas man it has accused of defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme involving the popular “virtual currency” Bitcoin, Federal Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas re-affirmed in August his earlier denial of the defendants’ motion to dismiss. In…
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After moving into a new home, you will probably receive a number of “welcome to the neighborhood” offers, many of them advertising services and local businesses. But a number of those letters will be for no purpose other than to separate you from your hard-earned money. When you buy a new home or take out…
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Last month, Washington Attorney General Robert Ferguson filed suit on behalf of the State of Washington against a man and a business who raised $25,146 backers on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter. The lawsuit alleges that Ed Nash and his company, Altius Management, failed to deliver promised “rewards” to his 810 backers. This is the first…
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Probably most Texans remain unaware of the systematic attack on their right to a jury trial. General Mills, the giant food maker, is simply the latest to try to eliminate it. The Texas Legislature passed an arbitration statute years ago, and the Texas Supreme Court has aggressively enforced arbitration, even when a party was unaware…
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Around 12:35 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, 2014, the watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Houston/Galveston received a call from the captain of the 585-foot bulk carrier Summer Wind who reported a barge carrying nearly a million gallons of oil had collided with a ship. The barge contained 924,000 gallons of fuel oil and was…
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