Archive for August 9th, 2009

Curiouser and curiouser…

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Mina Brees, a prominent Austin area lawyer and the mother of Drew Brees, died Friday in Colorado.

I wouldn’t ordinarily note this, but Ms. Brees was the subject of some attention in Austin and Houston prior to her death. A company controlled by Ms. Brees, Chicksports, sent letters to many restaurants in both cities, claiming that the restaurant’s rights to their business names had expired, and the legal rights to the names had been purchased by Chicksports. The letters went on to state that Chicksports would be happy to sell back those rights for $20,000 to $25,000. (Houston Chronicle coverage; Austin American-Statesman coverage.)

The legality of these letters is, to put it mildly, questionable. Ms. Brees’ legal records were under subpoena by the Texas Attorney General at the time of her death. (“Wonderful thing, a subpoena.” Spot the quote, win a cheese.)