Tag Archives: lawsuit

More on the oligarch suing Beto

From the Observer; I’m picking it up after the initial statements by Beto that got Kelcy Warren’s undies in such a wad: Free-speech advocates and many legal scholars have long decried these sort frivolous lawsuits—known as SLAPPs, or Strategic Lawsuits … Continue reading

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Chron story on City Council redistricting

Lots more info now. As Houston begins to redraw its City Council map for the 2023 elections, two districts representing western portions of the city, including Montrose, the Heights, River Oaks, and Uptown, among other neighborhoods, have out-sized populations that … Continue reading

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Of course Ted Cruz supported sedition

None of this is surprising. And I’m certain there will be more, that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Sen. Ted Cruz was dining near the Capitol on the evening of Dec. 8, 2020, when he received an … Continue reading

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Abortion funds accuse Briscoe Cain of defamation

This ought to be fun. Earlier this month, Republican Texas House lawmaker Briscoe Cain sent Texas abortion funds cease-and-desist letters, threatening the funds, their donors and volunteers with criminal prosecution unless they stopped helping fund abortions in Texas. Now, the … Continue reading

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Judge rules against Prairie View students in 2018 voting rights case

There was a lot of legal activity last week, so it took me a minute to get to this story. A federal judge ruled Thursday that Waller County did not discriminate against student voters at Prairie View A&M University during … Continue reading

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SCOTUS unanimously rejects Dave Wilson

Poor baby. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against former Houston Community College trustee Dave Wilson, finding that he didn’t have an actionable First Amendment claim after suing his colleagues for verbally censuring him in 2018. In a 9-0 … Continue reading

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First “Trump Train” lawsuit to proceed

Good news. Today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled in favor of plaintiffs in Cervini v. Cisneros, the “Texas Trump Train” lawsuit filed against individuals in a convoy of Trump supporters who conspired to mount … Continue reading

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Justice Department sues over Galveston County Commissioners Court map

Good, but remember how the federal courts are these days before getting too optimistic. The Department of Justice on Thursday sued Galveston County over its new redistricting map, accusing Republican county officials of violating the Voting Rights Act last year … Continue reading

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Paxton appeals to SCOTx to re-allow investigations of trans kids’ families

Of course he did. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene to allow child abuse investigations into parents of transgender children. His request comes just days after a Texas appeals court reinstated a temporary injunction blocking the … Continue reading

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More on the abortion funds’ lawsuits

Good overview in the WaPo. The Texas law has so far withstood multiple court challenges by employing a highly controversial legal strategy: empowering private citizens to sue anyone who helps facilitate an abortion after the legal limit. Abortion rights advocates … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit asks SCOTx for help on some SB1 issues

The Twitter summary: . Here are the questions the 5th Circuit asked the Texas Supremes to answer: https://ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/22/22-50110.0.pdf — Chuck Lindell (@chucklindell) 2:45 PM – 23 March 2022 To recap the history here, back in September a group of plaintiffs … Continue reading

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Yes, the statewide injunction against investigations into the families of trans kids is in effect

Good. A Texas appeals court on Monday reinstated a temporary injunction blocking Texas from investigating parents for child abuse if they allow their transgender children to receive gender-affirming care. The Texas 3rd Court of Appeals issued the order as part of a lawsuit brought … Continue reading

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Beto responds to oligarch’s lawsuit

Game on. Democrat Beto O’Rourke is blasting a pipeline company executive and top donor to Greg Abbott’s re-election campaign for filing a defamation lawsuit against him as he tries to unseat the two-term Republican governor. O’Rourke’s attorney filed a legal … Continue reading

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“Due diligence”

I’m just gonna leave this right here. The Browns said they did due diligence before agreeing to give Deshaun Watson a $230 million contract and complete a trade with the Texans. Watson is facing 22 civil suits for sexual harassment … Continue reading

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Appeals court upholds ruling to unseal MLB’s 2017 letter on sign stealing

Look, if you’re going to follow a weird story, you’ve got to stay committed to following that weird story. A September 2017 letter from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred detailing alleged sign-stealing by the New York Yankees should be … Continue reading

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Abortion funds file their own lawsuits

It’s good to fight back. I hope it can be successful. This week, the Lilith Fund and Texas Equal Access Fund, two of Texas’ oldest abortion funds, announced legal action (available to view here, here, here, and here) against two private individuals in Texas and two organizations based … Continue reading

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First round of Deshaun Watson depositions

He hasn’t had much to say so far. Four days after a Harris County grand jury chose not to indict Deshaun Watson, the Texans quarterback answered questions for the first time while under oath in connection to 22 civil lawsuits accusing him … Continue reading

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Still more on the mail ballot rejections

The Associated Press moves the ball forward now that the votes have been canvassed. Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nation’s first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules … Continue reading

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Deshaun Watson traded to Cleveland

He’s someone else’s problem now. The Texans have traded Deshaun Watson to the Browns. The quarterback waived his no-trade clause for Cleveland after initially eliminating the franchise, a person with knowledge of the negotiation said, but Watson reversed his decision … Continue reading

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OAN sues AT&T over being dropped from their service

Worth keeping an eye on. Right-wing cable network One America News is suing Dallas-based AT&T and DirecTV, alleging the companies breached their contract with OAN and conspired with a company currently suing OAN’s owners. AT&T and DirecTV became the target … Continue reading

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A trifecta of crap from the Fifth Circuit

It’s what they do. A federal appeals court has ruled for Texas in three lawsuits challenging the state’s voting laws, including mail-in ballot provisions and the elimination of straight-ticket voting. In a series of 2-1 rulings Wednesday evening, a panel … Continue reading

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Is that statewide injunction against investigations into the families of trans kids in effect?

Ken Paxton wants you to think it isn’t, but it’s not really up to him. When a judge ruled Friday that Texas could not investigate parents for child abuse simply for providing gender-affirming care, it was immediately clear that the … Continue reading

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Of course the Census undercounted people of color

This was the Trump administration’s goal from the beginning. The 2020 census continued a longstanding trend of undercounting Black people, Latinos and Native Americans, while overcounting people who identified as white and not Latino, according to estimates from a report the U.S. … Continue reading

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More data about mail ballot rejections

Keep it coming. Thousands of Texans who attempted to vote by mail in the March primary were disenfranchised in the state’s first election conducted under a new Republican voting law. The state’s largest counties saw a significant spike in the … Continue reading

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Texas sues to keep federal funds that would be denied for bullying trans kids

The utter gall, it’s breathtaking. Texas is worried it could lose over a billion dollars in federal funding over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring medical professionals to report transgender children receiving gender-affirming health care as potential child abuse. Texas Attorney … Continue reading

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No charges against Deshaun Watson

Good for him, I guess. A Harris County grand jury on Friday declined to indict Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, choosing not to criminally charge him in nine alleged instances of sexual assault or harassment during various private massage appointments, according … Continue reading

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Statewide injunction issued against Abbott/Paxton witch hunt

Some good news to end the week. State District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled Friday that providing gender-affirming care is not a reason for the state to investigate a family for child abuse, and halted all such investigations. The statewide … Continue reading

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SCOTx puts the last nail in the federal lawsuit against SB8

The fix was in from the beginning. The Texas Supreme Court dealt a final blow to abortion providers’ federal challenge to the state’s latest abortion restrictions Friday. The court ruled that state medical licensing officials do not have authority to … Continue reading

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Ken Paxton repays the Briggle family for their hospitality

What a scumbag he is. When the case worker asked to inspect the house, Amber and Adam Briggle first led her to the kitchen. They opened the cabinets to show they were full of food. They moved on to the … Continue reading

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State Bar sues Sidney Powell for professional misconduct

Busy times at the State Bar of Texas. The State Bar of Texas has filed a disciplinary suit against former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell alleging that she committed professional misconduct when she filed multiple lawsuits seeking to invalidate the … Continue reading

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Appeals court denies Paxton appeal of gender affirming care order

Good. A Texas appeals court sided with the parents of a transgender teenager in a ruling Wednesday, rejecting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to allow a child abuse investigation to proceed. The ruling will allow a lower court to hold … Continue reading

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And more people are travelling for abortions

The number of abortions performed in Texas has declined greatly since the passage of SB8. But the number of Texans seeking abortions has remained the same, which is what abortion advocates have always said would be the case. The number … Continue reading

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Longoria to resign as Election Administrator

Ultimately for the best. Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria submitted her resignation Tuesday, about an hour and half after Judge Lina Hidalgo announced she intended to replace her following last week’s bungled primary contests. Longoria said her resignation would … Continue reading

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One of Abbott’s billionaire patrons just sued Beto

OMG, this is amazing. The former CEO of one of the nation’s biggest pipeline companies and a major donor to Gov. Greg Abbott is suing Democrat Beto O’Rourke for defamation, slander, and libel for talking about his company’s role in … Continue reading

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