From Virtual Reality to Harvey: Texas’ Top Legal Stories of 2017

Androvett Legal Media & Marketing has compiled its list of the Top 10 Texas legal news stories for the sixth consecutive year.

“In a year marked by so many changes from Washington, it was a challenge to keep the focus on issues directly related to state-based businesses or stories originating in the Lone Star state,” said Mike Androvett, founder and president of Androvett Legal Media & Marketing. “However, there is never a lack of provocative legal issues in a state as dynamic as Texas, and 2017 was certainly no exception.”

The complete Top 10 Texas Legal Stories of 2017 list can be found on the Androvett blog.

Highlights include:

· Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg came to North Texas to testify in an intellectual property case involving Oculus VR technology. Though the company was found liable on some counts, the jury awarded plaintiff ZeniMax Media a fraction of the $6 billion it had sought.
· Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones backed star running back Ezekiel Elliott through the protracted appeals process of his six-game NFL suspension, and then went to battle against the rest of the league over the proposed extension of the league commissioner’s contract. Neither case went Jones’ way.
· After more than a decade under federal investigation, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price finally got his day in court – and walked out a free man.
· Massive rains related to Hurricane Harvey led the Army Corps of Engineers to release water from Houston reservoirs to protect dams. But it resulted in the flooding of hundreds of homes, leading to what is projected to be some of the most complex and costly litigation in history. The storm also literally swamped the Harris County criminal courts, as offices and courtrooms were left under water.