Judge Wesley Ward of the 234th District in Houston heard arguments Dec. 14 on a proposed final judgment in Martin v. Andrews Kurth, but did not rule and said he intended to order both sides to mediation.
In a Dec. 16 letter to Ward, plaintiffs attorney Philip Werner, a partner in Werner Ayers in Houston, wrote that the parties agreed to mediation with Phillips after Alice Oliver-Parrott, former chief justice of the First Court of Appeals in Houston, who previously mediated the suit, could not be scheduled in the near term.
Plaintiffs attorney Scott Raynes, a partner in Werner Ayers, said following the hearing Dec. 14 that he is “not particularly optimistic” they can resolve the suit through mediation. However, defense attorney Murray Fogler, a partner in Fogler, Brar, Ford, O’Neil & Gray of Houston, said Andrews Kurth is prepared to talk.
