Newsroom
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...
ETC Wins Important Standing Case in El Paso Court of Appeals
In a case with significant ramifications for the oil and gas industry, a split El Paso Court of Appeals has held that a mineral lessee does not have standing to sue a pipeline company for preventing it from accessing its oil and gas due to an underground...
El Paso Court of Appeals Holds That 1/8 x 3/16 = 3/16
Following on the heels of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Van Dyke v. Navigator Group, 668 S.W.3d 353 (Tex. 2023), the El Paso Court of Appeals has held that a deed conveying “3/16ths of one-eighth of all the oil and/or gas or other minerals produced . . ....
Austin Court of Appeals Publishes New Docketing Statement to Facilitate Case Transfers to Statewide (15th) Court of Appeals
The Austin Court of Appeals has issued a revised docketing statement to assist in transferring eligible cases to the new statewide court of appeals, which goes into business on September 1, 2024. A copy of the statement can be viewed below. The relevant language...
SCOTX Reverses Austin Court of Appeals in Case Involving Chapter 74 Willful and Wanton Negligence Standard
In a case we first reported in December, 2022, the Texas Supreme Court has reversed an Austin Court of Appeals opinion overturning a summary judgment in favor of an emergency care physician under the “willful and wanton negligence” standard under Chapter 74, CPRC....
SCOTX Denies Mandamus to Remove Justice Devine from Primary Ballot
The Texas Supreme Court has denied a petiton for writ of mandamus filed by a Fort Worth Court of Appeals justice who is seeking to unseat incumbent Justice John Devine. In re The Honorable Brian Walker (No. 24-0016; January 11, 2024) arose from Justice Walker’s...