Newsroom
Business Court Awards Specific Performance, Attorney’s Fees in Dispute Over Buy-Sell Option Clause in Company Agreement
The Business Court has granted a defense motion for summary judgment in a dispute over the enforceability of a buy-sell option clause in three nearly identical company agreements. The court awarded the defendant specific performance and attorney’s fees. Michael D....
Waco Court of Appeals Decides Case With Competing Trial Court Orders Stating Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law
In a case raising the issue of the status of conflicting trial court orders stating findings of fact and conclusions of law, the Waco Court of Appeals has held that the trial court intended to sign the findings and conclusions that supported the judgment. Dudley...
El Paso Court of Appeals Splits Baby in Oil and Gas Dispute, Holds That a Horizontal Wellbore Begins at Kick-Off Point Regardless of Angle
On remand from the Texas Supreme Court, the El Paso Court of Appeals has construed the term “horizontal drilling” in a retained-acreage clause to begin at the point the wellbore deviates from its vertical orientation, regardless of its angle, and to end at the...
Lt. Gov. Patrick Releases First Round of Interim Charges
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has issued his first round of interim charges for Texas Senate committees to study in preparation for the 90th Legislature. Lt. Gov. Patrick made the following statement upon issuing the charges: “These first 5 interim charges, released today,...
Corpus Christi Court of Appeals Upholds Trial Court’s Application of TRCP 39 (Mandatory Joinder) to Dismiss Royalty Suit
The Corpus Christi Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court judgment dismissing a royalty owner lawsuit against several producers because the owners didn’t comply with the court’s order to join all interest owners under Rule 39, TRCP. Norman Ross Becken, et al....
Houston [1st] Court of Appeals Mandamuses Trial Court for Denying Insurer’s Rule 91a Motion
The Houston [1st] Court of Appeals has mandamused a trial court for denying an insurer’s Rule 91 motion where the insurer timely paid the appraisal award in full. In re American Risk Insurance Company, Inc. (No. 01-25-00575-CV; November 25, 2025) arose from a...
Why Is the 15th Court of Appeals Deciding a Family Law Case?
Last week the statewide 15th Court of Appeals handed down an opinion deciding a pro se appeal of a protective order that prevented a father from having contact with his children on grounds that he committed family violence. The case originated in a Collin County...
Business Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Claim of Membership in an LLC, Dismisses Claims for Declaratory Relief, Accounting, Breach of Fiduciary Duties, Fraud
Esteban Quintero and ATS Concrete Services, Inc. v. Urban Infrastruction LLC and Anup Tamrakar (No. 25-BC01A-0022’ 2026 Tex. Bus. 3; January 26, 2026) arose from Quintero’s request that the Business Court reconsider a previous order granting Defendants’s motion for...
El Paso Court of Appeals Affirms TC Denial of Motion to Compel Arbitration Based on FAA Exemption of Transportation Workers
The El Paso Court of Appeals has applied an exemption to the Federal Arbitration Act for transportation workers actively engaged in interstate commerce. In LKQ Automotive d/b/a Keystone Automotive Industries, Inc. and Jesus Duron v. Adan Robert Romo (No....
Houston [14th] Court of Appeals Again Affirms Denial of TCPA Motion to Dismiss
The Houston [14th] Court of Appeals has affirmed the trial court’s ruling that the TCPA did not apply to Defendant Hutchison’s counterclaim for breach of fiduciary duties. Jeff Carlson and Daniel Calderon v. Hutchison, Incorporated, Farm & Ranch Holdings, LLC,...
Houston [14th] Court of Appeals Affirms TC Denial of TCPA Motion to Dismiss in Dispute Between Investor and Investment Fund
Hatteras Evergreen Private Equity Fund, LLC, and Hatteras Investment Partners LP v. Longboard Capital, LLC (No. 14-24-00938-CV; November 20, 2025) arose from a business deal gone terribly awry. Longboat invested $1,250,000 in Hatteras’s investment fund and...
In Concurring Opinion, Justice Young Identifies Misprision of 1915 Precedent Cited by Court of Appeals to Reverse TC Order Granting Rule 91a Motion to Dismiss
In a case in which the Texas Supreme Court denied review, Justice Young has issued a concurring opinion identifying an issue that could trouble the trial and appellate courts in years to come: whether and under what circumstances a trial court should consider the...