Newsroom
Houston [14th] Court of Appeals Grants Mandamus in Exclusive-Remedy Case
The Houston [14th] Court of Appeals has granted mandamus relief to the statutory employer of an injured employee of a subcontractor. In re ExxonMobil Corp. (No. 14-25-00446-CV; December 18, 2025) arose from injuries sustained by an employee of subcontractor Brown...
15th Court of Appeals Overturns TC Order Reversing TCEQ Issuance of Wastewater Permit to Developers
The 15th Court of Appeals has reversed a Travis County district court ruling that substantial evidence did not support a TCEQ order granting a wastewater permit to residential property developers in Williamson County. AIRW 2017-L.P.; 600 Westinghouse Investments,...
Business Court Enforces Mutual Waiver Agreement Between Operators of Adjacent Leases
In a third opinion by Judge Bullard arising from the same dispute, the Business Court has granted in part and denied in part an defendant operator’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff operator’s damages claim. Slant Operating LLC and Slant WTX Holdings, II,...
Business Court Enforces Mutual Waiver Agreement Between Operators of Adjacent Leases
In a opinion by Judge Bullard arising from the same dispute, the Business Court has granted an operator’s motion for summary judgment on its breach-of-contract claim against another operator who allegedly breached a mutual waiver agreement. Slant Operating LLC and...
SCOTX Reverses Appraisal Award Based on Evident Partiality Rule
The Texas Supreme Court ha reversed a trial court order confirming an appraisal award where a neutral appraiser failed to disclose prior to his appointment that one of the parties would tip him for the appointment. Kevin Burke, et al. v. Houston PT BAC Office...
Business Court Rejects Oil and Gas Leasholder’s Attempt to Claim Third-Party Beneficiary Status under Waiver Agreement Between Operators
In an opinion by Judge Bullard, the Business Court has granted a defendant operator’s plea to the jurisdiction on the basis that Plaintiff leaseholder was not a third-party beneficiary of an agreement between operators to waive objections to each other’s off-lease...
Business Court Applies Anti-Fracturing Rule to Dismiss Legal Malpractice, Fraud, and Other Claims Added to Case After Removal
The Business Court has dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a legal malpractice claim, as well as numerous fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims under the anti-fracturing rule, that Plaintiff added to the case after removal from district court. Michael D. Crain,...
Dallas Court of Appeals Affirms Take-Nothing Judgment for Defendants in Wrongful Death Case
The Dallas Court of Appeals has upheld a trial court’s take-nothing judgment in a workplace fatality case in which the jury found that the decedent was 51% responsible for his injury. Maria de los Angeles Rodriguez, Individually and as the Administrator of the...
SCOTX Throws Out Candidate’s Suit to Compel RPT to Put Him on the Ballot
In a per curium opinion, SCOTX has rejected former Justice Steven Wayne Smith’s petition for writ of mandamus seeking placement on the Republican Party primary ballot, despite failing to satisfy the statutory petition requirement. In re Steve Smith (No. 25-1107;...
Fort Worth Court of Appeals Affirms TC Order Denying Chapter 74 Motion to Dismiss for Deficient Expert Report
Based on the health care providers’ failure to preserve their objections to the plaintiffs’ supplemental expert report, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals has had no choice but to affirm a trial court order denying the providers’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ wrongful...
15th Court of Appeals Affirms TC Dismissal of Insured’s Suit Against TRS, Blue Cross Based on Sovereign Immunity
Regina Carson v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Inc., et al. (No. 15-24-00108-CV; December 18, 2025) arose from a dispute between a public school teacher and Blue Cross, the administrator of her health insurance provided by her ISD under the TRS ActiveCare Plan....
Business Court Denies Defendants’ Motion to Remove for Untimeliness
Sun Metals Group, LLC v. Shuangcheng Yu, Mengling Sun, Sunmetals Products of America, LLC, and Sunmetals Products de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (No. 25-BC01A-0050; 2025 Tex. Bus. 48; December 5, 2025) involved a plaintiff’s motion to remand and request for sanctions....