Newsroom
Dallas Court of Appeals Enforces Arbitration Agreement in Direct Benefits Estoppel Case
Paul Picone v. Gary Cruciani and McKool Smith, P.C. (No. 05-22-00841-CV; December 21, 2023) arose from a complex combination of business deals and litigation that came to head in a legal malpractice case in which Picone claims that his lawyer and the law firm...
SCOTX to Fifth Circuit: No Attorney’s Fees under Ch. 542A When Insurer Pays Appraisal Award Plus Interest
On July 12 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit requested the Texas Supreme Court to weigh in on the effect of the Texas Legislature’s 2017 amendments to the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act, Chapter 542A, Insurance Code (HB 1774). As you recall, the...
Amarillo Court of Appeals Dismisses Medical Malpractice Case for Lack of Expert Report
On a visit to an emergency care clinic, a child received a Bicillin injection in her thigh to treat strep throat. The physician assistant on duty prescribed the injection, which was administered by a medical assistant. The child had adverse reactions in her leg and...
Austin Court of Appeals Mandamuses Trial Court for Denying Defense Motion to Discover Plaintiff’s Pre-Existing Medical Treatment
In re Westside Roofing, LLC and Paul Scott Lowery (No. 03-23-00219-CV; January 5, 2024) arose from a commercial trucking case in which plaintiff alleged neck and back injuries from a collision with a roofing company’s pickup truck. Plaintiff asserted negligence and...
SCOTX Denies Review of Dallas Court of Appeals Decision Affirming Jury’s No Negligence Finding for Physician
The Texas Supreme Court has declined to review a case from the Dallas Court of Appeals in which a Collin County jury found a physician who left a sponge in plaintiff’s abdominal cavity after surgery was not negligent. In Emily Abney-Acosta v. Robert Santaella, M.D....
SCOTX Grants Emergency Stay of OAG’s Attempt to Take Apex Deposition of Mark Zuckerberg
The State’s lawsuit against Meta over its use of facial-recognition technology has hit the Texas Supreme Court in the form of a discovery dispute. In In re Meta Platforms, Inc. (No. 24-0046; emergency stay granted January 29,2024), the State, which has alleged that...
San Antonio Court of Appeals Reverses $69 Million Verdict Against Oil and Gas Producer
The San Antonio Court of Appeals has reversed a $79 million jury verdict in a dispute between working interest owners in the Cooke Ranch in LaSalle County. Repsol Oil and Gas USA, LLC, as successor to Talisman Energy USA Inc., Statoil Texas Onshore Properties LLC,...
SCOTX Declines to Review Austin Court of Appeals Refusal to Dismiss Union Pacific’s Affirmative Defenses in TCEQ Suit to Recover Cleanup Costs
In 2007 the TCEQ proposed listing on the registry of state Superfund sites property owned by Woodward Industries, Inc. in Nacogdoches County. TCEQ notified the owners of the property, which had been used as a wood-treatment facility, and provided them with an...
Eastland Court of Appeals: Saltwater Disposal Agreement Conveyed Ownership Interest
The Eastland Court of Appeals has held that a saltwater disposal agreement between a disposal company and a landowner conveyed an ownership interest sufficient to allow the company to bring an action to quiet title and a suit for an accounting. Darkhorse Water, LP...
SCOTX Accepts Certified Questions from 5th Circuit in Oil and Gas Lease Interpretation Case
The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to answer two certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit arising from a class action dispute between a producer and royalty owners. Anne Carl, as Co-Trustee of The Carl/White Trust, on behalf of...
Texarkana Court of Appeals Finds Steel Company Liable for Retaliatory Termination of Employee
The Texarkana Court of Appeals has affirmed a judgment against a steel manufacturer for firing an employee for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Pittsburg Steel, LLC v. Arthur Palmer (No. 05-23-00021-CV; December 11, 2023) arose from a workers’ compensation...
SCOTX Declines to Recognize Case-Specific Duty in Premises Liability Case
The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a Houston [14th] Court of Appeals decision holding that a hospital had a duty to an employee who was killed crossing a county road that fronted the hospital. HNMC, Inc. v. Francis S. Chan, Individually and as Personal...