Tag Archives: lawsuit

The Huffman influence

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. A lawsuit filed in state district court Monday alleges that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission improperly fired one of its sergeants after he told federal law enforcement that state Sen. Joan Huffman had blocked an investigation into a Longview … Continue reading →

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Justice Department drops out of latest Obamacare lawsuit

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Which of course was filed in Texas by our felonious Attorney General. The Trump administration said Thursday night that it will not defend the Affordable Care Act against the latest legal challenge to its constitutionality — a dramatic break from … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 58 Comments

More on the Texans’ cheerleader lawsuit

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a story in Vanity Fair about the second lawsuit filed against the Houston Texans by a group of former cheerleaders, who allege wage theft and harassment, among other things. The tale is from the perspective of plaintiff Gabriella Davis, … Continue reading →

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Are you nostalgic for some strip club litigation?

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Then this is your lucky day. The legal fight over the striptease business in Houston has heated up, again. Two topless bars are suing the city of Houston over a controversial, years-old legal settlement they say unfairly hampers business at … Continue reading →

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

Final instructions in bail practices lawsuit

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We may finally be nearing a conclusion in this matter. A year after a landmark ruling that upended Harris County’s bail system, a federal appeals court Friday issued final instructions for a Houston judge to craft a revised plan for … Continue reading →

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More Census litigation

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Also good. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus are suing the Trump administration in hopes of blocking the addition of a citizenship question to the once-a-decade census of every person living in the United States. … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Second group of cheerleaders sues the Texans

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Different group, same basic complaints. Hannah Turnbow spent the 2017 NFL season wearing a bright smile and a Texans cheerleaders uniform, dancing on the field, waving pompons on the sideline, meeting fans in NRG Stadium suites and concourses and attending … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Other sports | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fifth Circuit does its thing in the motor voter case

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The sky is blue, water is wet, and the Fifth Circuit does what the state of Texas asks it to do. Texas will not be required to meet a 45-day deadline to implement online voter registration for drivers — for … Continue reading →

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Harris County hearing officers sue to overturn their conduct sanction

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting twist. Three Harris County hearing officers have sued the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in an attempt to overturn their discipline for denying personal recognizance bonds to misdemeanor defendants, contending that the agency overstepped its authority by interpreting … Continue reading →

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State asks for emergency stay of “motor voter” ruling

Posted on May 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Also as expected. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked a federal appeals court to block a San Antonio judge’s order that gave state officials 45 days to correct an online voter registration system that was found to violate federal law. … Continue reading →

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Opioid lawsuits

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading Texas into a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for exacerbating the opioid crisis among Texans. In an announcement Tuesday afternoon, Paxton, a Republican, flanked by several assistant attorney generals, said the state … Continue reading →

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Former cheerleaders file lawsuit against Texans over pay

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been wondering if something like this was going to happen here. Three former Texans cheerleaders sued the team and its cheerleading supervisor Tuesday, accusing the Texans of failing to pay minimum wage and overtime and accusing the cheer squad … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Other sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Buc-ee’s wins in court

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. After about six hours of deliberation, a jury in Houston found Tuesday that Choke Canyon company’s alligator logo violated state and federal trademark law, infringing on the pre-established Buc-ee’s beaver mark established by the popular Texas road … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

State appeals “motor voter” ruling

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. The legal fight over whether Texas is disenfranchising thousands of voters by violating a federal voter registration law is on its way to federal appeals court. Just after a federal judge gave Texas less than two months to … Continue reading →

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Beaver v alligator

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a roadside rest stop animal logo legal smackdown, and it’s off to the jury. Buc-ee’s, a popular chain of Texas pit stops, fought hard to build its reputation and wants a San Antonio-based competitor to stop “riding its coattails” … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Add taekwondo to the list of problematic sports

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Also a sport with local ties. Last week, four female USA Taekwondo (USAT) athletes filed a joint lawsuit against the USOC and USAT, alleging that the two organizations engaged in sex trafficking by forcing its athletes — including minor females … Continue reading →

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State offers no fixes for “motor voter” law non-compliance

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked. Told it was breaking the law, and asked to propose a fix, Texas seems to have mostly declined. Following a ruling last month that Texas was violating a federal law designed to ease the voter registration … Continue reading →

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Dreamers can litigate in support of DACA

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal district judge has allowed a group of young undocumented immigrants to intervene in a lawsuit where the state of Texas seeks to put an end to the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. Brownsville-based … Continue reading →

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The “sanctuary cities” connection to the SCOTUS sports betting decision

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The state’s rights aspect of this ruling may have other applications. Seven of the nine justices — five conservatives and two liberals — backed a robust reading of the Constitution’s 10th Amendment and a limit on the federal government’s power … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

SCOTUS rules for sports betting

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Gamblers rejoice. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed all states to legalize sports gambling. But a ban in Texas remains in place, and recent history suggests that state leaders will be in no rush to lift it. The high court … Continue reading →

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Revisiting online voter registration

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Camel’s nose in the tent alert. Texas could be forced to create at least one narrow avenue for online voter registration after a federal judge ruled that the state is violating the National Voter Registration Act, a decades-old federal law … Continue reading →

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State ordered to come up with fix for voter registration problems

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The clock is ticking. Texas has less than a week to tell a federal judge in San Antonio how it will begin complying with the National Voter Registration Act, a decades-old federal law aimed at making it easier for people … Continue reading →

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Judge sides with city in term limits lawsuit

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The city wins for now, but we all know it’s not over yet. Politicians at City Hall can continue serving four-year terms — at least for now — after a state district judge sided with the city of Houston Friday … Continue reading →

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Turner’s 2019 budget

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the plan for making ends meet for next fiscal year. Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts in July would close a shortfall of $114 million without employee layoffs by drawing down the city’s reserves, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dallas Republicans ordered to pay legal costs in their failed ballot access lawsuit

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Cue the sad trombone. The Dallas County Republican Party will have to pay more than $51,000 to Dallas County Democrats for attorney fees incurred in defending the GOP’s attempt to remove dozens of Democrats from election ballots. In his final … Continue reading →

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Firefighters have their signatures

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

On to the next act in this drama. A petition Houston firefighters submitted last summer seeking pay parity with police contains enough valid signatures to trigger a referendum election, City Secretary Anna Russell reported to Mayor Sylvester Turner and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Of course Ken Paxton opposes the sick leave ordinance

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

He wouldn’t be Ken Paxton if he didn’t. Less than a week after a conservative think tank sued Austin over the city’s paid sick leave ordinance, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has thrown the state’s support behind the suit, calling … Continue reading →

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Paxton sues to end DACA

Posted on May 2, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This guy, I swear. Following through on a months-old promise, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Tuesday to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, leading a seven-state coalition against an Obama-era immigration measure that protects hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Fifth Circuit upholds voter ID changes

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Amid efforts to prove Texas’ embattled voter ID law is discriminatory, a federal appeals panel on Friday OK’d state lawmakers’ efforts to rewrite the law last year to address faults previously identified by the courts. On a 2-1 vote, … Continue reading →

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Count of firefighters’ pay parity petitions needs to be done by Friday

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Or else. Not sure what follows the “or else”, but maybe we won’t have to find out. City Secretary Anna Russell has one week to finish verifying a petition Houston firefighters submitted last summer seeking pay parity with police or … Continue reading →

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Why do business groups want to force sick people to go to work?

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is bad for society. The city’s new ordinance mandating that most private businesses in Austin provide paid sick leave to employees — heralded by supporters as the most progressive labor policy in Texas when it won approval two months ago — is … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS hears the redistricting arguments

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s in their hands now. Much of the argument concerned the issue of whether the case was properly before the justices at all. Last year, a three-judge panel of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas, in … Continue reading →

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Today is Texas redistricting day at SCOTUS

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron sets the table. The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will take their seats Tuesday morning to hear a case that could remake the political map of Texas. Hidden in the legalese of “interlocutory injunctions” and “statutory … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit against Dallas County Democratic candidates dismissed

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit that would have removed more than 80 Democrats from the November general election ballot, putting to rest a controversy that threatened to toss Dallas County elections into chaos. State District Judge Eric … Continue reading →

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