President Obama Nominates Three To Serve On The United States District Court For The Northern District of Texas

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Steven Callahan

Yesterday, President Obama nominated Northern District Magistrate Judges Frost and Ramirez to serve as U.S. District Court Judges for the Northern District of Texas. President Obama also nominated James Wesley Hendrix, of the United States’ Attorney’s Office, to serve as a Northern District Judge. According to the White House’s press release, with respect to Judge Frost:

Judge E. Scott Frost has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas since 2011.  In addition, he has served on the Operations Committee for the court since 2013.  Prior to his appointment as a Magistrate Judge, Judge Frost served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas from 1990 to 2011.  From 1988 to 1990, he worked as an associate for the law firm of McLean, Sanders, Price, Head & Ellis (now Brackett & Ellis, PC).  Judge Frost began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Sam R. Cummings of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas from 1987 to 1988.  He received his J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1987 and his B.B.A. from Angelo State University in 1984.

With respect to Judge Ramirez:

Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas since 2002.  Prior to her appointment to the court, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, working in the Civil Division from 1995 to 1999 and the Criminal Division from 1999 to 2002.  Judge Ramirez began her legal career working as an associate for the law firm Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, PC (now Locke Lord LLP) from 1991 to 1995.  She received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law (now Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law) in 1991 and her B.A. from West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University) in 1986.

And with respect to Mr. Hendrix:

James Wesley Hendrix has been the Chief of the Appellate Division for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas since 2012, and he has served as an Assistant United States Attorney since 2007.  Since 2015, he has also served on the Appellate Chiefs Working Group for the United States Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.  From 2004 to 2007, he was an associate at the law firm of Baker Botts LLP, practicing complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts.  Hendrix began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  He received his J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003 and his B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago in 2000.

Congratulations to Judges Frost and Ramirez, and Mr. Hendrix, for this great achievement!

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Judge Robinson Announces Change To Senior Status

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Steven Callahan

Last month, Judge Robinson announced she would take senior status effective February 3, 2016. Judge Robinson has served for more than 60 years as a judge, including 35 years as a judge on the Northern District of Texas. Congratulations to Judge Robinson, and thank you for your public service! (The Northern District’s press release concerning Judge Robinson’s announcement is here.)

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Chief Judge Solis To Retire in May 2016

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Steven Callahan

It has recently been reported that Chief Judge Solis intends to retire in May 2016. The Chief Judge’s retirement will create four judicial vacancies in the Northern District of Texas.

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Judge Lynn Denies Motion to Stay Case Pending Ex Parte Reexamination

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Steven Callahan

On December 18, 2015, Judge Lynn entered an Order (available here) rejecting the defendant’s request to stay the case pending resolution of its ex parte reexamination petitions for six of the eight patents-in-suit. The Court noted that the parties were direct competitors and that it was speculative whether a stay would simplify the issues. Because none of the relevant stay factors weighed in favor of a stay, the Court denied the defendant’s motion to stay.

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What’s A Reasonable Hourly Rate For A Copyright Litigator? Hint: Not $595/Hour According To Judge Boyle

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Steven Callahan

On January 14, 2016, Judge Boyle issued an Order (available here) in Spear Marketing v.  BancorpSouth Bank ruling on the prevailing defendants’ requests for attorney’s fees. The Court found that the defendants were entitled to attorney’s fees under the Texas Theft Liability Act or, alternatively, the Copyright Act. However, Judge Boyle refused to award the defendants the amounts they requested.

More specifically, Defendant Argo sought $1,190,255 in attorney’s fees, and Defendant BancorpSouth sought $711,422.74.

Argo’s requested (2015) rates ranged from $595/hour for its senior principal partner to $261/hour for its (apparently, most junior) associate. Argo requested $261/hour for its paralegals’ time.  Judge Boyle found that Argo’s requested rates were not reasonable:

[T]he Court finds that [Argo’s firm’s] hourly fees charged are unreasonably inflated. Other district courts in the Northern District of Texas have found reasonable hourly rates for copyright litigation attorneys of comparable skill, experience, and reputation to range from $100 to $400 dollars. . . . Generally, fee awards for rates above $500 per hour are reserved for specialized tasks in complex cases that few attorneys are capable of handling. As for paralegals, reasonable rates range between $60 and $125 per hour.

(citations and quotations omitted).

The Court decided to “adhere to a general rate of $150 to $400 per hour for attorneys and $100 per hour for paralegals”, selected a “general rate” of $300/hour for partners (with the exception of $400/hour for Argo’s senior principal partner), $200/hour for associates, and $100/hour for paralegals. Applying these rates to the number of recoverable hours resulted in an award to Argo of $604,715—about half of what it had requested.

Defendant BancorpSouth’s firm “provided a twenty-percent discount to their standard rates lowering their rates to the range ‘from $200.00 to $228.00 for paralegals, $212.00 to $296.00 for associate attorneys, $476.00 to $532 for partners, and $748 for senior partners[.]” The Court again found that the hourly rates were not reasonable, and that the time spent on the case by Defendant BancorpSouth’s firm was “slightly excessive” resulting in a 20% reduction in the hours billed by the firm to be used when calculating the fee award. For Defendant BancorpSouth’s firm’s rates, “the court select[ed] a general rate of $250 per hour for partners, $150 per hour for associates, and $100 per hour for paralegals and legal assistants.” These rates were lower than the allowable amounts for Defendant Argo’s firm because Defendant BancorpSouth’s firm “did not act as lead counsel in this matter.” The Court ultimately awarded Defendant BancorpSouth $325,106 in attorney’s fees—again, approximately half of what it had requested.

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Judge McBryde Tosses Purported Class Action Against Texas Wesleyan and Texas A&M

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Steven Callahan

On January 14, 2016, Judge McBryde entered an Order (available here) that dismissed the first amended complaint filed by plaintiffs in a purported class action lawsuit against Texas Wesleyan and Texas A&M. Plaintiffs, graduates of Texas Wesleyan School of Law, graduated from law school prior to Texas A&M purchasing the assets of Texas Wesleyan School of Law from Texas Wesleyan in 2013.

“Plaintiffs allege that after A&M acquired the assets of TWU Law and began the operation of Texas A&M University School of Law, the A&M Defendants refused to recognize them as A&M Law graduates.” Apparently, the plaintiffs wanted to be able to list themselves as Texas A&M law graduates and have Texas A&M issue them new diplomas—i.e., “[a]t best, plaintiffs wish that Wesleyan Defendants had done something to assure that A&M would acknowledge them as graduates.”

Judge McBryde found that the first amended complaint failed to state a claim, and rejected all of the plaintiffs’ claims.

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Federal Civil Practice Seminar To Be Held On January 20, 2016 at the Belo

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Steven Callahan

The 30th Annual Federal Civil Practice Seminar (“What Every Lawyer Should Know Before Entering Federal Court”) will be held this Wednesday, January 20, 2016, at the Belo. It should be a great event. The keynote speaker is Judge Kenneth Starr, and the Presenters/Panelists will be Judge Douglas Lang; Judge Scott Brister; Hon. William Royal Furgeson, Jr.; Prof. Fred Moss; Derek Dickinson (AT&T); Jennifer Wells (Ericsson); and Brian Jobe (ARGO Data). The event will provide 5 hours of CLE credit (including 2 hours of ethics). More information can be found here.

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Northern District Implements Two Modifications Affecting The Electronic Record on Appeal

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Steven Callahan

The Clerk of the Northern District of Texas recently announced that, “[u]nder the direction of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Northern District of Texas has implemented two key modifications that will impact the electronic record on appeal.”

Specifically, with respect to hearing/trial exhibits:

The Fifth Circuit requires the electronic record on appeal to include all exhibits that were admitted into evidence in a trial or other proceeding. ECF users must transmit copies of their proffered exhibits that were admitted into evidence in the district court case through ECF within 14 days of the date the notice of appeal was filed. A specific ECF docket event has been created for exhibits that are not sealed, and instructions for uploading both public and sealed exhibits into the district court case can be found here: http://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/exhibit-guide.

With respect to accessing the record on appeal:

After the district court notifies the parties that the electronic record on appeal has been certified, attorneys will be able to access a copy of the paginated record on appeal through the Fifth Circuit’s ECF system rather than on a disk provided by the district clerk. The record will contain only the public documents, and, if the appeal is of a criminal judgment, the presentence investigation report and related materials. The district court may only release sealed portions of the paginated record upon order of the Fifth Circuit.

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Judge Godbey Rejects Texas’ Temporary Restraining Order Application Seeking To Prohibit Syrian Refugees From Being Settled In Texas

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Steven Callahan

Yesterday, Judge Godbey issued an Order (available here) that rejected Texas’ application for a temporary restraining order that sought to enjoin the United States government from resettling Syrian refugees due to arrive in Texas. The application was premised on the federal government’s alleged failure to consult and cooperate with Texas. Judge Godbey, focusing on the immediate injury prong of the temporary restraining order inquiry, stated:

[Texas] argues that terrorists could have infiltrated the Syrian refugees and could commit acts of terrorism in Texas. The Court finds that the evidence before it is largely speculative hearsay. The Commission has failed to show by competent evidence that any terrorists actually have infiltrated the refugee program, much less that these particular refugees are terrorists intent on causing harm. . . . [O]n the record before the Court, the Court finds that the Commission has failed to establish by a preponderance of the admissible evidence that there is a substantial threat of irreparable injury, and therefore denies the application for TRO.

 

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Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Ordered To Sit For Deposition in Zenimax Case

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Steven Callahan

On December 7, 2015, Magistrate Judge Stickney issued an Order (available here) resolving Facebook’s motion for a protective order, which sought to preclude Plaintiffs from deposing Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Judge Stickney ultimately ruled that the plaintiffs could depose Zuckerberg after other depositions concluded. Judge Stickney allowed the deposition because “[g]iven Mr. Zuckerberg’s active participation in Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus, he has unique knowledge, as Facebook’s Founder, Chairman, and CEO, regarding his own decision to acquire Oculus and his valuation of Oculus based on his testing of the Rift headset which ZeniMax alleges includes misappropriated ZeniMax technology.”

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