Beef, Buses, and Buckeyes Drive New Texas Business Court Dockets

Lawyers have filed more than 50 cases in Texas’ business courts since they opened in September, availing themselves of a system designed to attract corporations by streamlining complex, high-dollar litigation.

Kinks are still being ironed out. Houston’s division has received more cases than Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Fort Worth combined.

Also, it remains a question of whether the courts can accept cases filed in other courts before the business courts opened. Seven of the 10 judges have said they can’t, triggering appeals that haven’t been decided.

Of the pending cases in business courts, here are three to keep an eye on.

Ohio State Contractors

Linbeck Group LLC, of Texas, partnered with Boldt Company, of Wisconsin, to build a $200 million cancer care facility at the Ohio State University.

Linbeck alleges Boldt failed to provide competent staff, missed deadlines, and generally performed sub-standard work. These shortcomings resulted in losses of more than $5 million, Linbeck said in a lawsuit, which also seeks to dissolve the company the entities formed for the project.

The project, a proton therapy facility, was completed in April 2023.

Linbeck filed the suit in Houston because that’s where it says it the parties entered into the agreement.

Cokinos Young represents Linbeck. Boldt, which lists no attorney in court records, hasn’t responded to the Oct. 15 suit.

The case is Linbeck Grp., LLC v. Boldt Co., No. 24-BC-11B-0014.

Migrant Busing Profit Sharing

Wynne Transportation LLC, a Texas charter bus company, owes $32.8 million to GETZ Transport Solutions LLC for cutting it off from a profit-splitting agreement to bus migrants from Texas to left-leaning cities, a mediator ruled and a judge confirmed.

But Getz alleges Wynne is shifting assets to a private equity company to avoid paying up, an assertion the bus company denies.

The dispute is playing out in the background of the wider issue of immigration and border security. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) tapped the companies to evacuate migrants to liberal cities including Washington, New York, and Chicago, a move that some viewed as politically driven but that Abbott has defended as necessary to limit costs incurred by Texas taxpayers to shelter migrants.

Together, the two transportation companies have billed the state $200 million for the bus rides.

Burford Perry LLP represents GETZ. Andrews Myers PC represents Wynne.

The case is GETZ Transp. Sols., LLC v. Wynne Transp., No. 24-BC01A-0008.

Meat Processing Dispute

A Colorado man named John Malouff says he paid $800,000 to obtain one-fourth ownership in a meat processing plant, while three other investors paying only $10 each kept him walled off from the company’s finances.

Malouff alleges in the lawsuit that he recently discovered the company, Republic Foods, was hit with judgments for non-compliance with food health and safety regulations, resulting in forfeiture of licensing to sell beef interstate.

Before filing the suit in October, Malouff says he tendered a buyout offer for $9.5 million and separately sought to review the company’s financial records—but neither request went anywhere.

Republic Foods in a response said Malouff’s claims of amounts owed relates “to an agreement that did not exist between the parties.”

Malouff, who separately owns a livestock company, alleges Republic Foods and the other investors owe him $1.6 million for Angus cattle beef he provided to the processing plant.

Cokinos Young PC represents M&M Livestock. Hendershot Cowart PC represents Republic Foods.

The case is M&M Livestock, LLC v. Republic Foods, No. 24-BC08B-0003.