AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — In a little-watched legal battle that continues to wind its way through the Texas courts, the Texas Supreme Court is set to hear a 1st Amendment case with potential wide-ranging implications for future freedom of the press considerations and what kinds of information can be kept secret from the public.
The issue comes before the court as part of a broader trade secrets dispute that led to the largest jury award in Bexar County, Texas, history – a stunning $740 million.
The Texas Supreme Court has indicated it will hear oral arguments in the case – virtually – on October 27th, 2020.According to a Houston Forward Times article published October 12th entitled "First Amendment Rights Tested as Texas High Court Reviews Evidence Sealing in Record-Setting Trade Secrets Case":
It has been a long-standing principle in court that such documents shall remain available for the public, and it is an important standard for upholding legal accountability.
The public deserves to understand the facts of the case, which led to such massive damages, which may ultimately shape the very definition of what is, or is not, deemed legally worthy of trade secret protection.
The Houston Forward Times is keenly aware of the threats posed... and the stakes for protecting freedom of speech and public access to information.
The First Amendment serves as a cornerstone of liberty, and it must be protected with vigilance. When exceptions may be warranted, they must be weighed with prudence.
The case involves an ongoing legal dispute between title insurance company Amrock (formerly Title Source) and the real estate valuations firm HouseCanary. In 2018, HouseCanary sued Amrock for misappropriating trade secrets related to an Automated Valuation Model (AVM,) and was awarded $706 million – the largest such determination in the history of Bexar County.The public deserves to understand the facts of the case, which led to such massive damages, which may ultimately shape the very definition of what is, or is not, deemed legally worthy of trade secret protection.
The Houston Forward Times is keenly aware of the threats posed... and the stakes for protecting freedom of speech and public access to information.
The First Amendment serves as a cornerstone of liberty, and it must be protected with vigilance. When exceptions may be warranted, they must be weighed with prudence.
This past summer, however, the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio unanimously overturned the decision.
Near the conclusion of the 2018 trial, HouseCanary asked the trial court to seal exhibits retroactively, which resulted in 14 trial exhibits being sealed six weeks after the trial ended.
But in July of 2019, the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio held that because the company failed to follow the proper document sealing procedures laid out in Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 76a, the documents must be unsealed.
HouseCanary has now appealed that decision to the Texas Supreme Court.
"As such, the Houston Forward Times, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and all those in support of the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution turn to the Texas Supreme Court and anxiously await its ultimate decision in this critical case," wrote the the Houston Forward Times.
