Latest News
Dana Levy wins in the Dallas Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Dana Levy who successfully convinced the Dallas Court of Appeals to reinstate a medical malpractice case that had been dismissed. On appeal, Dana convinced the court that a cardiologist with hospital administration experience was qualified to opine as to a hospital’s policies and procedures for providing cardiac care.
Tammy Holt wins in the San Antonio Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Tammy Holt and trial counsel, Rey Perez, who won an appeal in the San Antonio Court of Appeals this week. The interlocutory appeal was filed by a private entity who contracted with a governmental entity to manage a nursing home. Claiming derivative sovereign immunity, the private entity tried to claim that it could not be sued because, by contracting with the government, it was entitled to the same immunity from suit the government enjoys. The trial court declined to dismiss the case…
Caren Friedman argues in the New Mexico Supreme Court!
Congratulations to Santa Fe Partner, Caren Friedman, who presented argument on behalf of the Petitioners in the New Mexico Supreme Court on September 16, 2020. The case involved the death of the Petitioners’ 20-year-old daughter when the airbag system in her Ford Ranger truck failed to deploy.
Kirk Pittard and Rick Thompson again named “Best Lawyers in America”!
Congratulations to Dallas partners Kirk Pittard and Rick Thompson who have been, once again, named “Best Lawyers” in the Appellate Practice category by The Best Lawyers in America for 2020.
DP&S and Parker Waichman LLP help keep cancer drug suit alive!
Congratulations to firm client Parker Waichman LLP on securing a denial of a motion to dismiss filed by Defendant Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. in a case pending in the District of New Mexico alleging that Novartis hid serious side effects of its blood cancer drug Tasigna.
Thad Spalding wins derivative immunity case in the Texas Supreme Court!
Congratulations to Thad Spalding who, along with Kevin Parker, Richard LaGarde, and Manfred Sternberg, was successful in convincing the Texas Supreme Court to deny immunity to GTECH, a private contractor hired by the Texas Lottery Commission to design and manufacture instant scratch-off tickets.
Dana Levy wins medical malpractice expert report challenge in Houston’s Fourteenth Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Dana Levy on her successful defense of medical malpractice expert reports before Houston’s Fourteenth Court of Appeals. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of Chapter 74 motions to dismiss filed by various health care providers, finding that the challenged experts were qualified and that their reports satisfied Chapter 74’s gate-keeping functions in all respects.
Tammy Holt gets dog bite summary judgment reversed by the San Antonio Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Tammy Holt who successfully reversed a summary judgment granted against the plaintiff in a dog bite case! Tammy successfully convinced the court of appeals that the plaintiff’s claims of strict liability, negligent handling, and gross negligence were supported by deposition testimony that dog was “leery” around strangers, prone to nip at heels, and that owners considered putting the dog away when plaintiff visited, but decided not to.
Tammy Holt and Thad Spalding win in the Dallas Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Tammy Holt and Thad Spalding who, along with trial counsel Kenneth Chaiken, successfully reversed a summary judgment in a dispute over the terms and requirements of a Cross Purchase Agreement, and whether that agreement required remaining shareholders in a closely-held corporation to purchase their client, a retiring shareholder’s shares.
Kirk Pittard & Thad Spalding named “Best Lawyers” by D Magazine!
Congratulations to Kirk Pittard and Thad Spalding who have been named “best lawyers” by D Magazine in the Appellate category for 2020.
Dana Levy successfully defends default judgment in Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Dana Levy who successfully defended a $500,000 default judgment in Houston’s Fourteenth Court of Appeals! Dana prevailed by arguing that the defendant’s 2019 appeal of a 2015 default judgment was untimely. The court of appeals agreed, rejecting the defendants’ argument that the default judgment was interlocutory because an unserved defendant was never nonsuited.
Dana Levy defeats mandamus petition in the Dallas Court of Appeals!
Congratulations to Dana Levy, and trial counsel Jason Stephens, on successfully defeating a mandamus petition filed in the Dallas Court of Appeals, seeking relief from the trial court’s striking of a responsible third party designation. The defendant, an owner of a gas facility where our client was injured, tried to designate and assign blame to a former minority-interest owner and contract-operator of the property.
Dana Levy Wins in the Texas Supreme Court!
Congratulations to Dana Levy, who won an important medical malpractice case in the Texas Supreme Court! Dana successfully overturned a court of appeals holding that would have required a party to produce an expert report simply for purposes of seeking discovery from a nonparty physician.
The case of the stolen dinosaur
Have you ever had your dinosaur stolen? Mongolia did. When a Tyrannosaurus Bataar dinosaur skeleton was looted from the country to be auctioned off in New York, Durham, Pittard & Spalding attorneys, along with trial counsel, helped the President of Mongolia get it back. One year later, an international dinosaur skeleton looting ring was broken up and numerous rare dinosaur skeletons were returned to Mongolia and are now displayed in a dedicated museum.
Leighton Durham Helps Secure $8.9M Verdict in the “Cow in the Road” Case!
Congratulations to Dean Boyd and Jamie Kroon of the Attorney Dean Boyd firm, and Leighton Durham on an $8.9M verdict in Dallas County following the bench trial of a case in which the plaintiff, Bobby Tunnell, suffered massive injuries when the car in which he was a passenger hit the defendant’s cow,…