John Council

September 29, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

Workers are set to start restoring Hood County's 1890 courthouse to its original condition as part of the Texas Historical Commission's Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.

By John Council

7 minute read

May 23, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

After recently spending nearly $4 million in state and private funds to return the courthouse to its original 1884 glory, it's easy to see why preservationists and architects alike marvel over Red River County's two-story limestone courthouse.

By John Council

7 minute read

August 31, 2005 | Texas Lawyer

As Hurricane Katrina and growing floodwaters have turned the New Orleans business district into a legal ghost town, officials at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are making plans to relocate the court. Several breaks in the levees that surround the city have caused water to rise around the marble walls of the John Minor Wisdom Courthouse, which houses the 5th Circuit.

By John Council

4 minute read

December 27, 2002 | Texas Lawyer

In a 12-hour public hearing highlighted by angry testimony and allegations of "improper relationships," a State Bar of Texas grievance panel on Dec. 18 considered a complicated disciplinary case against Dallas lawyer Lawrence J. Friedman. Friedman is accused of having "no reasonable basis" for alleging two women exchanged sex for ad litem appointments with a Dallas judge and that Friedman asserted claims, which were not supported by the record, that he objected to a hearing held outside a courthouse.

By John Council

10 minute read

July 14, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

The day before the Fourth of July, the Texas Supreme Court created some fireworks of its own, handing down hot opinions that limited workers' compensation suits filed by employees of temporary staffing agencies and upholding the removal of a lawyer's controversial highway billboard.

By John Council

7 minute read

November 03, 2000 | Law.com

The main players in a most unusual ethical battle concerning a Dallas civil judge announced their traded accusations were all just a big misunderstanding. Dallas County Judge David R. Gibson, the subject of bribery allegations, says he's dropping a defamation suit against Jeffrey T. Robnett. Robnett now says he misunderstood the context of the conversation on which his accusation was based.

By John Council

6 minute read

September 08, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

The Texas Supreme Court has released 22 opinions, one of which finally settles a debate over when an insurance company owes a duty to defend an insured sued by a third party over a product defect that went undiscovered for years. Tom Bishop (pictured) of Dallas says he believes the opinion will make it difficult to determine which insurance company has a duty to defend an insured that has had multiple policies.

By John Council

9 minute read

February 24, 2003 | Texas Lawyer

Attempts by a prominent Dallas plaintiffs firm to recover a contingent fee from a client who ended up taking his medical malpractice case to a lawyer outside of that firm were "unconscionable as a matter of law," the 2nd Court of Appeals recently ruled. The decision in Law Offices of Windle Turley v. Robert L. French, et al. stems from an unusual long-running dispute in which clients took a case away from the firm and then tried unsuccessfully to give it back to the firm

By John Council

7 minute read

October 11, 2004 | Law.com

A car accident case illustrates the perils of using the "loser pays" provision of Texas' House Bill 4, which forces the losing litigant to pay certain court costs if the litigant refused a settlement offer and then recovered less at trial than what was offered. Cris Feldman, who represented the prevailing plaintiff, says although the provision worked for his client, "overall, it [Rule 167] is a bad thing for working people in Texas."

By John Council

7 minute read

January 24, 2011 | Texas Lawyer

Paris, Texas, has a really bad relationship with flames. In 1877, a fire nearly destroyed the town. And in 1916, a blaze did destroy the town, taking the city's beautiful 1897 Victorian granite Lamar County Courthouse with it.

By John Council

6 minute read