Commercial Litigation Articles

National Basketball Association (“NBA”) security official, Kelley Hardwick, has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against Geno Auriemma, head coach for the United States women’s basketball team. The suit, filed in a Manhattan State Supreme Court last Friday, also named the NBA and USA Basketball as defendants. In the complaint, Hardwick alleges she was removed as…

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Central Freight Lines has been ordered to pay settlements to eight dock workers to settle age discrimination lawsuits. Central Freight Lines, a Waco-based company, has terminals that it operates in both Fort Worth and Dallas. The lawsuit was brought against the company by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity…

According to Reuters, Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $4.8 million in back wages to thousands of employees for unpaid overtime. The settlement comes after a probe by the U.S. Department of Labor which found that Wal-Mart had violated federal law regarding overtime pay. In addition to the back pay, Wal-Mart will also pay $463,815 in…

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (“Citizens”) has appealed to the United States Supreme Court over an award of $104.6 million to thousands of its Louisiana policyholders. Citizens is the insurer of last resort in Louisiana, which means that Citizens insures homeowners in Louisiana that cannot get private insurance due to high risk. The large judgment…

Justice was served to a Nebraska-based insurance company last week when a jury awarded 90-year-old, Arlene Hull, $34 million to compensate her for the insurance company’s wrongful denial of benefits under her policy. In 1997, Ms. Hull and her husband purchased a long-term insurance plan that was to pay for the medical and living expenses…

At the request of the Securities and Exchange Commission, on February 17, 2009, United States District Judge David Godbey in Dallas issued the first of many orders which, in effect, seized Stanford Financial Group and placed it in a receivership. Thus began a lengthy civil case concerning the assets of the organization, which included various…

According to the Los Angeles Times, a California jury recently awarded over $8 million to an elderly homeowner whose home was nearly destroyed after a dump truck crashed into the home, rupturing a gas line, and causing an explosion. Residence Mutual Insurance Co. had insured Robert Christopher’s home for more than fifty years. According to…

In a recent decision, the Texas Supreme Court indicated that employers may fire employees who refuse to waive their right to a jury trial. The opinion was In re Frank Kent Motor Company d/b/a Frank Kent Cadillac, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex. 2012). In that case, a 28-year employee of a dealership was forced to waive…