On July 20, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon of the Southern District of Texas came down in favor of the First Amendment when issuing a preliminary injunction that gives a reporter for Courthouse News Service same-day access to new civil suits filed in Harris County district courts. Courthouse News, a legal newswire headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., had sued Harris County district clerk Loren Jackson and chief deputy clerk Wes McCoy alleging they are violating the Constitution by making it difficult for its Houston reporter to gain immediate access to civil court filings. Courthouse News alleges its reporters have reviewed civil court filings at the Harris County Civil Courthouse since May 1999, but new procedures the clerk’s office instituted in October 2008 and March 2009 significantly reduced Courthouse News’ Houston reporter’s ability to look at newly filed petitions on a timely basis. In her July 20 order, Harmon disagreed with the defendants’ argument that a “slight delay” in allowing the reporter access to the pleadings is reasonable, and that providing the reporter with same-day access interferes with its objective of “getting online and not in line.” In the Opinion and Order of Preliminary Injunction, Harmon found that the 24-to 72-hour delay in access is unconstitutional. “It is clearly in the public interest to enjoin Defendants’ conduct. There is an important First Amendment interest in providing timely access to new case-initiating documents,” she wrote, adding that same-day access and online access should not be mutually exclusive. Mary Baker , an assistant Harris County attorney who represents Jackson and McCoy in the suit, says, “We are in the process of looking at the order.” John K. Edwards , a partner in Jackson Walker in Houston who represents Courthouse News, says Harmon’s order shows she understands that delaying access for administrative reasons “really doesn’t fly under the First Amendment.”
The Verdict
A team of lawyers led by Stephen Susman , a partner in Susman Godfrey of Houston, won a $178.7 million state court verdict in Dallas on July 17 that includes $5 million in punitive damages against the general counsel of Dallas-based NL Industries Inc. A jury in 192nd District Judge Craig Smith ‘s court returned a unanimous verdict that includes $33.7 million in actual damages and $140 million in punitive damages against NL Industries, and $5 million in punitive damages against Robert D. Graham , vice president, general counsel and secretary for NL Industries. Graham did not return a telephone call seeking comment. NL defense attorney Richard Sayles , a partner in Sayles Werbner in Dallas, says, “NL believes the facts and the evidence do not support the verdict rendered by the jury and we continue to believe the plaintiffs’ claims of breach of fiduciary duty were without merit.” The suit, Industrial Recovery Capital Holdings Co., et al. v Harold C. Simmons, et al. , was filed by a group of minority shareholders in NL Environmental Management Services Inc. (NL EMS). According to a July 20 press release from Susman’s firm, the plaintiffs — Industrial Recovery Capital Holdings Co., Highland Environmental Management LLC and Efficasey Environmental LLC — alleged in the suit that when they exercised their contractual right to sell their stock back to NL Industries in 2005, the company failed to pay what the stock was worth. The jury found NL EMS failed to comply with the terms of the stockholders agreement and NL and NL EMS were not excused from complying with the stockholders agreement. Among other findings, the jury also found NL, Graham and two others failed to comply with fiduciary duties to the plaintiffs, and found that three defendants, including Harold Simmons, who controls NL Industries, conspired to breach their fiduciary duties to the plaintiffs. Sayles notes that the damages against Graham relate to his role as president of NL EMS, instead of his position as GC for NL Industries. “We feel like he didn’t do anything wrong,” Sayles says. “He happened to be the person who was assigned the task of calculating the value [of the stock] of which they were displeased, of course.” Susman’s firm represented Efficasey Environmental and Industrial Recovery Capital Holdings, while a group from the Dallas office of Fish & Richardson in Dallas, including managing principal Tom Melsheimer , represented Highland Environmental Management. “We clearly had good facts,” says Susman in explaining the size of the verdict. Susman and Melsheimer say the verdict is the largest in Dallas County in 2009. Sayles, who represented all the defendants, says he will ask the judge to enter a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, and will appeal if Smith enters a judgment in the plaintiffs’ favor.
