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NEWS
http://texasatj.org/091410LargestCyPresAward
Hamp Skelton Receives the
2010 "Cy Pres- Impact on
Justice" Award from the Texas
Access to Justice Foundation. The following is a quote
from the foundation's website:
Austin attorney J. Hampton
Skelton of Skelton & Woody
received the Cy Pres--Impact on
Justice Award from the Texas
Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF).
Skelton was instrumental in
designating cy pres funds to the
TAJF and five of its grantees to
support civil legal services to
persons with disabilities. The
Cy Pres--Impact on Justice Award
recognizes the significant
impact lawyers can have in
increasing funding for legal aid
for poor and low-income Texans.
Cy pres awards are residual
funds from a class action or
other proceeding that cannot be
distributed to class members or
the intended beneficiaries for a
variety of reasons.
http://texasatj.org/galaforveterans
Summary Judgment Victory in June 2011
Skelton & Woody was co-counsel with Kirkland & Ellis in representing DIRECTV, and co-counsel with Morrison & Foerster in representing EchoStar and DISH Network in a patent infringement case. Here is a link to this order:
Order Granting MSJ
Summary Judgment Victory for Samsung in April 2011
Hamp Skelton successfully argued for summary judgment in Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Inc. v. Lloyd Technologies, Inc. before the Hon. John Dietz. The case involved liability for damage to a Canon Stepper, an optical measuring device used in Samsung’s microchip manufacturing FAB in Austin.
Summary Judgment Victories in
Two Patent Cases August 6, 2009
Skelton & Woody was co-counsel
with Kirkland & Ellis in a pair
of patent cases filed by
Encyclopedia Britannica against
Toyota, Honda, TomTom Inc.,
Magellan Navigation Inc., and
Alpine Electronics concerning
the map search function on GPS
devices. Encyclopedia
Britannica's patent infringement
claims were dismissed by Austin
Federal Judge Lee Yeakel who
found that Encyclopedia
Britannica's claim of priority
was broken and that Encyclopedia
Britannica's patents were
invalid. Please view the article
from Law360.com:
Toyota, Others Prevail In Spat
Over Britannica Map IP.
Summary Judgment for State
Farm in March 2009
The firm prevailed on a summary
judgment motion in state
district court in Travis County
on March 10, 2009 in Cause No.
D-1-GN-08-000897; Angelia
Davidson v. State Farm Lloyds
and Buddy Henderson; in the
261st Judicial District Court,
Travis County, Texas. The
lawsuit alleged breach of
contract and bad faith in
connection with a fire loss
claims.
Summary Judgment for
Continental Casualty on February
9, 2009
The firm won summary judgment
for Continental Casualty Co., a
Hartford Company, in February
2009 in a coverage case
involving accidental death
benefits. The decision turned on
contractual limitations,
statutory limitations and
coverage issues. Here is a link
to this order:
Mildred Dick Opinion
Victory in Texas Supreme
Court in February 2007
On February 9, 2007, The Texas
Supreme Court issued its opinion
in State Farm Life Insurance
Company v. Martinez, 216 S.W.3d 799 (Tex. 2007)
reversing the Tenth Court of
Appeals’ opinion that unfairly
penalized State Farm for not
choosing and apportioning among
three competing claimants to the
same $500,000 life insurance
proceeds. Eva Ramos and Hamp
Skelton split the oral argument,
held in December 2006. The
unanimous opinion vindicated our
client's decision to file an
interpleader action, paying the
policy proceeds into the
registry of the court, in the
face of conflicting claims by
the deceased's daughter, former
wife (whose divorce decree made
her “irrevocable beneficiary”)
and widow whom the deceased had
attempted to designate as sole
beneficiary. The opinion
clarified how the Texas prompt
payment statute (the former Tex.
Ins. Code Art. 21.55) applies
when insurers who face rival
claims for the same benefits
interplead the funds.
State Farm Life Insurance
Company v. Martinez, 2007
Summary Judgment for
Travelers on February 21, 2007
The firm won a summary judgment
in Travelers favor in state
court in Austin on February 21,
2007 in Olga Palacios v.
AIC-Sunbelt Group, Inc. and
Travelers Lloyds of Texas
Insurance Company. The case
involved a frequent litigant who
sued Travelers and Plaintiff's
insurance agent for allegedly
failing to bind new coverage
after the cancellation of her
policy. Plaintiff also alleged
that her signature had been
forged on a policy cancellation
request. She sued for a variety
of contractual and
extra-contractual theories,
including fraud, and asserted a
large mental anguish claim.
Travelers prevailed on
limitations grounds as to all
but one claim asserted,
enforcing a contractual
limitations period that was
shorter than the one provided
for by statute, and prevailed on
a "no evidence" summary judgment
on the only claim not barred by
limitations, fraud.
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