The United States Supreme Court recently decided Gallardo et al. v. Marstiller, an opinion that changes the way Medicaid liens may be calculated in personal injury settlements and judgments. In a seven to two opinion, the Justices held that Medicaid may seek recovery not only of past medical expenses paid on behalf of a Plaintiff, […]
A recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit has caused a big controversy in the oil and gas industry. In Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v Hewitt, the Fifth Circuit decided that Helix owed an offshore tool pusher time-and-a-half overtime pay because he was compensated on a day-rate basis and not with an annual salary. The […]
A Jamaican citizen was extradited to the United States and pled guilty to defrauding elderly U.S. citizens out of between $150,000 and $200,000. Greg Warren Clarke, age 29, worked with a co-conspirator in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The two of them phoned victims to inform them that they had won a big lottery prize. They instructed […]
A cruise passenger filed a lawsuit in Florida federal court against Norwegian Cruise Lines. She alleged that she returned to her cabin and found a crewmember making her bed. He allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. As I wrote in a recent post, under maritime law, cruise lines are strictly liable for […]
A Florida jury found that Tesla was only 1% to blame for a crash and battery fire of a Tesla Model S that took the lives of an 18 year old and his friend. The teen was driving 116 mph in a curve with a speed limit of 25 mph when he lost control and […]
A Florida federal court jury recently rendered a $10.2 million verdict in favor of a woman who was raped by one of the employees of the cruise ship on which she was a passenger. The passenger contends she had been drinking and was playing hide-and-seek with friends. She ducked into a utility closet to hide […]
Many Texas, Louisiana, and Florida residents and business owners are unable to afford hourly attorney’s fees. Going up against an insurance company or a major corporation with deep pockets is scary. Many attorneys offer what are called contingent or contingency fees. Under a typical contingent fee contract, the attorney agrees to pay the expenses of […]
The family of a talent scout for the Houston Rockets filed a lawsuit against a construction company allegedly responsible for his wrongful death. The victim was riding his bike at night with a headlamp and a helmet. The sidewalk on which he was riding had been torn up by the construction company. The construction company […]
It is common to see Texas business owners sign short letters of intent with the understanding that a more detailed contract will be drafted and signed by the parties on a later date. We are sometimes asked by clients whether their letter of intent is a binding contract under Texas law. The short answer is […]
The Austin trial court has issued a Docket Control Order (DCO) in the Texas Lottery Fun 5’s lawsuit. The DCO sets deadlines and the trial date for the first bellwether lawsuit. The lawsuit was brought by approximately 1,000 lottery players whose scratch-off tickets indicated they should win a prize. GTECH (now known as IGT) is […]