Author name: michelle

Houston attorney Lara Hollingsworth was a highlighted speaker at the Texas Trial Lawyers Association’s CLE Seminar on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at the Warwick Melrose Hotel in Dallas. The day-long seminar covered how to tackle 21st Century car wreck cases.   Lara provided insight on how plaintiff’s counsel can use motions practice to their advantage.

Congratulations to Rick Thompson, Valerie Farwell, and trial counsel, Richard Dodd, who convinced Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals to reverse an asbestos MDL summary judgment ruling on causation.   The Court of Appeals found there to be a fact issue on direct causation, precluding summary judgment, where there were no other “plausible sources” of asbestos exposure,

Congratulations to Dana Levy and trial counsel, Scott Hendler and Grayson McDaniel, who successfully defended a challenge to their nursing administrator and forensic pathology expert reports.  In this nursing-home negligence case in which a resident died of hypothermia during Winter Storm Uri, the defendants objected that licensed nursing home administrators and a forensic pathologist were

Congratulations to Shelby White, Thad Spalding, and trial counsel, Daryl Washington, who settled a civil rights case against the City of Arlington and one of its officers for $1.9 million.  The case involved the fatal shooting of Tavis Crane by Arlington police officer Craig Roper after Crane was stopped when his toddler threw a candy wrapper out

Congratulations to Roz Bienvenu, Justin Kaufman, and trial counsel, Jim Hada, who successfully moved to remand a case from federal to state court in New Mexico for the family of a student killed in a bus crash returning from a college golf tournament. The district court held that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations do

On December 28, 2003, Leighton Durham and Kirk Pittard started a law firm concept in Dallas that did not yet exist—an appellate boutique.  They decided to focus on what they did best– handling appeals as well as substantive motion practice, legal issues, and litigation support at the trial level—and would do so for medium to

Congratulations to Santa Fe attorneys, Caren Friedman and Phil Kovnat, who, along with Dallas trial counsel C. Kyle Pugh and appellate counsel Jeffrey Levinger, successfully convinced U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas to deny a Motion for New Trial, for Remittitur, or to Alter or Amend the Judgment filed by

DP&S is pleased to announce that Lara Hollingsworth has joined our team as a partner in our Houston office. Lara comes to us from Rusty Hardin & Associates where she was a lawyer and partner for over 20 years. Lara has been recognized as one of the 500 Leading Litigators in America by Lawdragon and

Tammy Holt, of our Dallas office, argued at the Texas Supreme Court on November 29, 2023.  At issue in this case is whether diligence in service of process is a “statutory prerequisite to suit” for claims brought under the Tort Claims Act.  Texas State University filed a plea to the jurisdiction, asserting that the court

Santa Fe attorney Caren Friedman was one of four New Mexico appellate practitioners asked to participate in panel discussions at the Appellate Bench and Bar Conference, held in the supreme court courtroom on Friday, October 20, 2023.  Caren joined a distinguished panel of supreme court justices, court of appeals judges, and court staff to discuss

Congratulations to DP&S Dallas partners Leighton Durham, Kirk Pittard, Thad Spalding, and Rick Thompson for being named “Super Lawyers” again this year in the Appellate category by Super Lawyers Magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication, for 2023. Way to go!

Congratulations to KDP partner Kirk Pittard for a recent win in the Tyler Court of Appeals.  The defendant in this medical malpractice case attempted to postpone a second special setting with a last minute petition for mandamus.  After briefing and oral argument, the Tyler Court of Appeals denied the mandamus allowing the case to proceed

KDP Partner, Leighton Durham, was part of a trial team in an automobile products liability case in which the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for $41,935,624.17.

Congratulations to Maria Wormington of Wormington & Bollinger and Christy Wollin and Peter Kelly of Kelly, Durham & Pittard for an excellent appellate win in the Fort Worth Court of Appeals in which the court held that the lower standard of care—“wilful and wanton”—applicable in hospital emergency rooms does not apply to healthcare provided to