A Texas woman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming race discrimination.

Shireika Whitmore filed suit against HSMTX/LibertyLLC, which does business as Liberty Healthcare Center, in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas, citing race discrimination.

According to the complaint, Whitmore began working as a respiratory therapist at Liberty Healthcare’s nursing facility in Liberty, Texas in June 2013. Whitmore alleged that the working environment was heavily charged with racial discrimination and that she was subjected to intolerably abusive actions because of her race.

Whitmore alleges that the director of nursing, a white woman, accused Whitmore, a black woman, of yelling at a white employee. According to the complaint, the director would only take statements from white employees regarding the incident, and black employees who witnessed the incident and wished to give statements were not permitted to do so. Following an investigation initiated by the director, Whitmore’s employment was terminated, the suit states.

Whitmore claims that the director of nursing told her that there was no way for her to save her job as part of the investigation, effectively targeting her for her employment to be terminated.

The lawsuit requests damages for back pay, front pay, pain and suffering, economic losses, exemplary damages, attorney’s fees and costs, along with other relief. A jury trial is requested.

Gregory D. Jordan is an employment lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

Citgo Petroleum has filed a lawsuit against a fuel reseller for breach of contract, claiming that the reseller sold non-brand motor fuel under Citgo’s name and failed to pay for fuel purchases.

Citgo Petroleum Corporation filed the lawsuit against Daibes Oil and Fred A. Daibes in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, on October 14.

The lawsuit alleges that Citgo and Daibes Oil entered into a marketer-franchise agreement whereby Daibes would purchase motor fuel from Citgo for resale under the Citgo brand name to consumers and retailers. According to the complaint, they entered into the agreement on February 16, 2012.

Also according to the complaint, Daibes Oil has failed to pay more than $359,000 for fuel purchases made in January. Citgo also alleges that in 2013, Fred Daibes signed a guaranty for the agreement, and that he has failed to comply with its terms.

Citgo also alleges that it provided branding materials on the condition that Citgo would be reimbursed if the service stations debranded within a 60-month amortization period, and that Daibes Oil failed to reimburse Citgo under the contract. Citgo also alleges trademark infringement, claiming that Daibes Oil has sold non-branded motor fuel under Citgo’s name.

Citgo is seeking damages, interest, attorney’s fees and costs.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business attorney and business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

A jewelry maker has filed a lawsuit against Sam’s Club, claiming that the retail warehouse club is selling its jewelry without permission.

David Yurman Enterprises filed the lawsuit against Sam’s Club on September 4 in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.

According to the complaint, Yurman sells its jewelry at boutiques located across the United States and through authorized retailers. Yurman claims that its jewelry is well-known by consumers and the industry for its quality and uniqueness of design.

The complaint alleges that Sam’s Club recently began selling Yurman’s jewelry at discounted prices in stores located in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. However, Yurman claims that Sam’s Club was not approved to carry the jewelry and is not an authorized retailer. Yurman claims that the conduct by Sam’s Club has caused confusion and disappointment among consumers by creating the false impression that the warehouse club is an authorized retailer. According to the lawsuit, unlike authorized retailers, Sam’s Club is not able to offer certain services to consumers.

The lawsuit states that Sam’s Club is making prominent use of the Yurman trademark, packaging and placards, including a purported Yurman certificate of authenticity.

The lawsuit alleges false designation, trademark infringement, tortious interference with contract and unfair competition. Yurman seeks a court order prohibiting Sam’s Club from using Yurman’s trademark, and from acquiring and reselling its jewelry. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified damages, attorney’s fees, costs and other relief.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business attorney and business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

Chesapeake Energy, facing multiple lawsuits from landowners over claims of underpaid royalties, has revealed that the company has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice and several states over its alleged wrongdoing.

State attorneys and federal prosecutors have demanded that Chesapeake produce documents, give testimony and provide information relating to the alleged underpayments. Separately, the company has revealed that it has been subpoenaed regarding possible violations of anti-trust laws. In Michigan and Pennsylvania, Chesapeake faces racketeering charges.

The federal and state investigations come as Chesapeake continues to face a number of civil lawsuits from landowners. Dozens of landowners in Texas and Oklahoma have sued Chesapeake, claiming that the company used accounting tricks to avoid paying them the full royalty payments they were due for allowing Chesapeake to drill for oil and gas under their land. 

The lawsuits allege that Chesapeake engaged in sham transactions with affiliated companies in order to manipulate natural gas prices, calculated royalties based on below-market prices, and deducted post-production costs from royalty payments, even when lease agreements prohibited such deductions.

In Michigan, Chesapeake is facing a criminal anti-trust complaint over alleged collusion with Encana Corp. to rig bids for drilling leases in the Collingswood shale region of the state. Also in Michigan, the company faces racketeering charges for allegedly offering large bonuses to landowners in order to lock up mineral leases in the region, then backing out of the leases once the competition had been shut out.

Chesapeake is still recovering after the ouster of CEO Aubrey McClendon, who was the subject of a federal investigation over alleged financial misdeeds.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business attorney and business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

A recent lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas illustrated the importance of choice-of-law provisions in employee non-compete agreements.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit were employees of F&M Bank, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As part of a merger between F&M Bank and Texas-based Prosperity Bank, Prosperity offered the employees new employment agreements that included non-compete agreements.

After the April 2014 merger, some employees were dissatisfied with their new positions and filed suit in Oklahoma state court, seeking a declaration that the non-compete agreements were not enforceable. Prosperity filed an action in Texas state court, seeking a declaration that the non-compete agreements were enforceable. The cases were removed to federal court and consolidated in the Southern District of Texas.

After the employees resigned their positions with Prosperity and began working at CrossFirst Bank in Tulsa, dueling choice-of-law motions were filed by the parties. Although the case was in federal court in Texas, concerning a Texas employer, and the non-compete agreements had a Texas choice-of-law provision, the court ruled that Oklahoma law applied, as the employees lived and worked in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma law is far more restrictive of non-compete agreements than Texas law, and the court entered summary judgment for the plaintiffs, holding that the non-compete agreements were not enforceable.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin business attorney and business litigation lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

In a closely watched dispute between two neighboring mineral operators, the San Antonio Court of Appeals ruled that Lightning Oil Co., the plaintiff lease owner, could not receive a temporary injunction preventing Anadarko E&P Onshore, LLC, a neighboring lease owner, from drilling through the plaintiff’s mineral estate to reach the defendant’s own mineral estate.

In the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, Anadarko owned leases for mineral interests beneath the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area. The lease required Anadarko to use offsite drilling locations when prudent and feasible. Lightning owns adjacent mineral leases, and Briscoe Ranch, Inc. owns the surface above Lightning’s leases. Anadarko entered into an agreement with Briscoe to establish drill sites on Briscoe’s land, drill through – but not produce from – Lightning’s leases, and drill from Anadarko’s own lease.

Lightning sought an injunction, claiming that its own mineral interests could be harmed by Anadarko’s proposed drilling activity. Lightning argued that drilling fluid could seep into Lightning’s mineral interests if Anadarko failed to case its wells properly. In that case, Lightning would be forced to drill extra offset wells in order to prevent drainage occurring from Anadarko’s wells.

The trial court denied the injunction, and the appellate court affirmed, stating that Lightning had failed to show an imminent and irreparable harm that would result from the drilling activity.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Oil and Gas lawyer in Austin. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

Three female employees of the City of San Antonio, Texas have filed a federal lawsuit alleging pay discrimination.

Christine Peden and Jeanne Martinez, employees of the City’s Animal Care Services, discovered they were being paid less than male coworkers with the same job title of operations managers. They filed a federal lawsuit, which was joined by Brenda Werts, then an employee of the Capital Improvements Management Services department. The lawsuit alleges violation of the federal Equal Pay Act and pay discrimination. Martinez and Peden also accuse the city of retaliating against them after they raised their concerns about pay.

The women’s arguments were recently supported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that investigates employment discrimination, which found that the City had indeed discriminated against them. The EEOC also found that the City’s use of “counseling letters” to respond to the women’s concerns about their pay constituted a violation of the Equal Pay Act. The EEOC is now attempting to facilitate a settlement between the City and the women through a “conciliation” process.

The federal lawsuit is proceeding separately. According to the women’s attorney, the lawsuit is in the discovery process, and mediation efforts have been unsuccessful thus far.

According to the National Women’s Law Center, Texas’ gender wage disparity is comparable to the national pay gap between women and men. On average in the U.S. and in Texas, women earn $0.79 for every $1.00 men earn.

The Equal Pay Act provides that women and men in the same workplace, who work substantially equal jobs, be given equal pay. The Act applies to all types of pay, including salary, wages, bonuses and vacation pay. Employers are not permitted to reduce the pay of either sex to correct a wage disparity.

Gregory D. Jordan is an employment lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

A former Texas teacher has filed a lawsuit against the Houston Independent School District, claiming that he was fired because of his race and because he filed grievances against the school.

Robert Green filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.

In the lawsuit, Green says that he is an African-American male who was employed as a fourth grade teacher in the school district. He claims he was told in April 2013 that his contract would not be renewed due to poor job performance. Green states that he was not informed of any issues regarding his job performance beforehand.

Green alleges that in March 2013, a new principal, Toren Woolridge, was hired. Green claims that Woolridge criticized his job performance and accused him of threatening Woolridge, but that Woolridge actually threatened him. Green said he filed claims with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reporting the incident.

According to further claims in the lawsuit, Green was not given an opportunity to correct any alleged deficiencies in his job performance before his employment was terminated.

Green alleges race discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation. He is seeking an unspecified amount of damages for lost pay, earning potential and benefits.

Gregory D. Jordan is an employment lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

A Texas television station’s chief meteorologist has sued his former employer, claiming age and disability discrimination.

Bob French has filed the federal discrimination lawsuit against KBTX in College Station and Bryan. He has also claimed retaliation, harassment and violations of the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

French alleges that during the 2012 holidays, he was forced to work additional hours while younger staff members were given time off. He claims that the overwork led him to seek medical treatment for exhaustion and depression in 2013 under the Family and Medical Leave Act. 

According to the lawsuit, KBTX advertised an open meteorologist position during the time that French was on protected medical leave. French claims that when he returned to work, he was reprimanded and soon replaced by a meteorologist who was under 40 years of age and did not have a disability.

According to the lawsuit, French had worked for the station for 23 years, and his employment was governed by a written contract that stated that he could not be fired without cause. French said that none of the reasons given for his firing constituted proper cause.

French previously filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission, alleging discrimination and retaliation. The EEOC completed an investigation in May, clearing the way for the lawsuit to be filed.

Gregory D. Jordan is an employment lawyer. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.

Energy magnate T. Boone Pickens has filed a lawsuit in Texas state court against realtor Gannon Properties and its affiliates, accusing the company and its principal of fraud over $4.1 million in unpaid loans.

According to the lawsuit, Pickens won a previous case against Gannon and its principal, William Franke, over two unpaid promissory notes amounting to $4.1 million. The current lawsuit accuses Franke of improperly transferring portions of the company to his wife through other entities, in what the suits claims was an attempt to avoid paying the debt.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act, conspiracy and tortious interference with contract.

The lawsuit claims that the original promissory notes were issued by PlainsCapital Bank to Gannon Joint Venture LP, and that Pickens purchased the loan in 2013. After a repayment dispute, Pickens won a lawsuit against Gannon.

According to the current suit, six months after the ruling in Pickens’ favor, Franke transferred his interest in Gannon to his wife in an attempt to avoid his legal obligations. The lawsuit also claims that Franke and the company used the corporate structure improperly, failing to document transactions or keep independent records. Furthermore, Franke and Gannon allegedly used one another’s bank accounts and funds as their own.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and exemplary damages, attorney’s fees and an injunction preventing further transfers of assets.

Gregory D. Jordan is an Austin Oil and Gas attorney. To learn more, visit https://www.theaustintriallawyer.com or call 512-419-0684.