Category Archives: Legal matters

Run, Kenny, run!

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Peak Ken Paxton. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home in a truck driven by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, to avoid being served a subpoena Monday, according to an affidavit filed in federal court. Ernesto Martin Herrera, a … Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More on the DeLorean reboot company and its interesting legal history

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Another prestige podcast in the making, I suspect. Six months after DeLorean Motors Reimagined, the startup seeking to produce a new incarnation of the 1980s sports car, said it would put is headquarters in Texas, a lawsuit filed against the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Three migrants sue Ron DeSantis

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m venturing a little from the core mission of covering Texas politics, but this was too irresistible, and there is a Texas connection. Three Venezuelan migrants flown from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last week filed a federal class-action lawsuit … Continue reading →

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District court judge dismisses State Bar complaint against Brent Webster

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bad ruling, and it needs to be appealed. A Texas district judge has dismissed a professional misconduct lawsuit against a top aide of Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to discipline them for their effort to overturn the … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton keeps trying to kill the SAISD vaccine mandate

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

On brand, always on brand. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another petition seeking to reverse a Bexar County judge’s decision that rejected the state’s bid for a temporary injunction to block the San Antonio Independent School District’s staff … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds Texas’ ridiculous social media censorship law

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Back to you, SCOTUS. A Texas law prohibiting large social media companies from banning users’ posts based on their political viewpoints will go into effect after a federal appeals court on Friday lifted a block placed on the statute. NetChoice … Continue reading →

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Broader injunction issued to halt DFPS investigations of trans kids’ families

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas’ child welfare agency is once again blocked from investigating parents who provide gender-affirming care to their transgender children. The injunction applies to any family that belongs to PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group with more than 600 members in … Continue reading →

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Paxton to be deposed in Servergy-related lawsuit

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This gets into some deep lore about the Paxton crime saga. Attorney General Ken Paxton will face lawyers for the men who accused him of securities fraud seven years ago in a one-hour deposition after the November elections. The Dallas … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against True the Vote

Posted on September 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, this will be fun to watch. A defamation and computer fraud lawsuit filed this week against Texas-based True the Vote asks a judge to essentially determine whether the election-integrity group’s campaign against a small election vendor constitutes slanderous lies … Continue reading →

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The next ridiculous lawsuit we’re all going to have to endure

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Grit your teeth, here it comes. A University of Texas at Austin professor has sued Texas A&M University claiming a new faculty fellowship program designed to increase diversity at the flagship university in College Station discriminates against white and Asian … Continue reading →

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It’s the year 2022 and we’re still litigating the Affordable Care Act

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t this horse dead yet? A federal judge in Fort Worth agreed Wednesday with a group of Christian conservatives that Affordable Care Act requirements to cover HIV prevention drugs violate their religious freedom. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor also agreed … Continue reading →

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SCOTx maintains judicial bypass rules for abortion

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The Texas Supreme Court has opted to keep in place a legal process that allows minors to seek a judge’s approval to have an abortion without parental consent, though state law now bans the procedure in most circumstances. … Continue reading →

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Comptroller caves on phony “defunding” claim

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, he folded like a lawn chair. Harris County is moving through the process of passing a fiscal 2023 budget with a 1 percent dip in the property tax rate, after the specter of the state blocking its … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Of course the redistricting lawsuit trial will be delayed

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All we ever get is delays. The legal fight over the shape of Texas political representation for the next decade won’t be decided until next year after a federal panel agreed Tuesday to delay a trial over new political maps. … Continue reading →

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“Scamilton” church apologizes

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this last week.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by The Door McAllen Church (@doormcallen) The Door McAllen church released a statement this morning apologizing for their production of ‘Hamilton’, in which they altered lyrics … Continue reading →

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Harris County approves the option of suing Comptroller over baloney “defunding” claim

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Commissioners Court on Wednesday authorized a pair of private law firms to sue Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who accused the county of defunding law enforcement last week, forcing a halt to consideration of its $2.2 billion budget. … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Abbott weasels on raising the minimum age to buy an assault weapon

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Typical. Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that it would be unconstitutional to increase the minimum age to buy assault-style rifles from 18 to 21 years old — a key proposal Uvalde parents have called for after an 18-year-old gunned down … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another lawsuit over Uvalde public information

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This all really is ridiculous. The Texas Tribune, along with a group of other news organizations, filed a lawsuit Monday against the city of Uvalde, the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District asking a judge … Continue reading →

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Pension reform law reinstated by appeals court

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A win for the city. A state appeals court on Tuesday tossed out a ruling that jeopardized part of Houston’s pension reform plan, reversing a victory the firefighters’ pension board had scored in late 2020. The Houston Firefighters’ Relief and … Continue reading →

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Paxton still trying to intervene in the Genecis case

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Never stop never stopping. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is attempting for the second time to intervene in a legal fight over gender-affirming medical care at two Dallas hospitals. In an appeal filed this month, Paxton said that a lower court judge erred in ruling … Continue reading →

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Libertarians will remain on the ballot

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Too bad, Republicans. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Republican effort to remove a host of Libertarian candidates from the November ballot, saying the GOP did not bring their challenge soon enough. In a unanimous opinion, the all-GOP … Continue reading →

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More on the Uvalde class action lawsuit

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A few more details, anyway. Charles Bonner served the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District with the multibillion-dollar claim Monday, requesting compensation for the victims. Bonner told The Texas Tribune he intended to serve Uvalde city leaders on Tuesday evening at … Continue reading →

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Paxton finds a new way to be two-faced

Posted on August 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, what were we supposed to believe? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stunned election administrators across the state last week when he released an opinion that, in theory, would allow anyone to access ballots almost immediately after they were … Continue reading →

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Judge rules Texas cannot ban handgun sales to 18-to-20-year olds

Posted on August 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

WTAF? A federal court in Fort Worth on Thursday struck down a Texas prohibition that limited adults under 21 from carrying handguns. Texas law bars most 18- to 20-year-olds in the state from obtaining a license to carry a handgun … Continue reading →

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Paxton issues deranged opinion on access to ballots

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is utterly chaotic. And completely out of the blue. A legal opinion released by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last week will almost certainly throw county elections offices into chaos after November, experts say, exposing election clerks to possible … Continue reading →

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A different EMTALA ruling in Idaho

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. You know where this goes from here. A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Idaho from enforcing a ban on abortions when pregnant women require emergency care, a day after a judge in Texas ruled against President Joe Biden’s … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s State Bar disciplinary hearing

Posted on August 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We are slowly moving towards finally having some kind of result in this saga. Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued Wednesday that a Kaufman County judge should toss a lawsuit alleging he acted unethically in a legal challenge … Continue reading →

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Restraining order granted in Paxton’s EMTALA lawsuit

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Texas hospitals will not be required to provide emergency abortions after a federal judge ruled the Biden administration was unauthorized to enforce such a rule. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in Lubbock ruled that the guidance by the … Continue reading →

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Abortion funds file First Amendment lawsuit for their right to assist others access abortion

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what SCOTUS does with this one, because for sure that’s where this will end up. Reproductive rights groups on Tuesday filed a federal class-action lawsuit to head off possible prosecution from Texas officials for helping Texans gain access … Continue reading →

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Class action lawsuit for Uvalde parents being prepped

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of blanks to be filled in for this. You can be sure I’ll be watching for them. Some of the families affected by the Robb Elementary School mass shooting are now a part of a major … Continue reading →

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Beto still seeking to dismiss oligarch’s lawsuit against him

Posted on August 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Might have better luck this time around. Remember last year when Gov. Greg Abbott’s biggest donor sued gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke for defamation, slander, and libel? Well, that’s still going on. The legal fight has moved into a state appeals … Continue reading →

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DeLorean reboot company hit with intellectual property lawsuit

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming. Mere months after the city and county coughed up nearly $1.1 million in incentives to attract the revamped DeLorean Motor Co., the venture has been hit with a lawsuit alleging its founders … Continue reading →

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The 24th plaintiff

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, 23 of the 24 women who had filed lawsuits against Deshaun Watson for sexual harassment and assault have settled those cases. The one who has not settled now tells us why. Deshaun Watson and the NFL agreed to … Continue reading →

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SCOTx advised to leave judicial bypass rules in place

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. An advisory committee to the Texas Supreme Court voted unanimously Friday to keep in place a legal procedure that allows minors to get a judge’s approval to have an abortion without the legally necessary parental … Continue reading →

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