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The presumption of nonliability for products manufactured to meet or exceed mandatory federal safety standards, § 82.008, CPRC, is one of the cornerstones of the 2003 tort reform effort. This provision has come under repeated attack in product liability litigation...

Governor Abbott has signed into law a very significant piece of legislation that flew largely under the radar this session. HB 3058 by Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston) and Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) establishes an affirmative defense in an action against a physician...

By a 7-2 majority, the Texas Supreme Court has held that a city executing a Chapter 380 economic development agreement with a private business is acting in a proprietary capacity and thus may be sued for breach of contract. City of League City, Texas v. Jimmy...

In April we reported on the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Mosaic Baybrook One, L.P., Mosaic Baybrook Two, L.P., and Mosaic Residential, Inc. v. Tammy Cessor (No. 21-0161; delivered April 21, 2023), in which the Court reversed a Houston [14th] Court of Appeals...

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has asked the Texas Supreme Court for help in construing the so-called “jurisdiction-saving” provision that temporarily tolls the statute of limitations for a case dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction. Lee Marvin Sanders;...

At the beginning of the 88th Legislative Session in January, TCJL published a Statement of Conservative Business Principles, together with a graphic matrix illustrating our methodology for evaluating legislative proposals. What follows is a list of proposals for...

As you know, the 88th Regular Session was one for the record books in terms of the number of new causes of action, enforcement actions with penalties and attorney’s fees, and regulatory bills chock full of vague standards and, in a few cases, dubious...

The Texas Supreme Court will review a case challenging a Railroad Commission order denying an oil and gas operator’s application to force pool its mineral interest with another operator. Ammonite Oil and Gas Corporation v. Railroad Commission of Texas and EOG...

One of the most controversial and heavily negotiated bills this session was HB 18, which seeks to regulate the availability of content “harmful” to minors on the Internet. As introduced, the bill imposed a sweeping duty on any person who operates a website to...

END OF SESSION REPORT On Monday night, May 29th, the 88th Legislature gaveled out Sine Die after 140 days. When the Legislature convened on January 10th, the session was predicted to be a historic one with a budgetary surplus of $32.7 billion and promises to fund...

Reversing the Houston [14th] Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court returned a case involving the enforceability of an arbitration agreement where the terminated employee claims that the costs of arbitration would be so excessive as to deprive him of a statutory...

TCJL Tracked Bill List May 31, 2023 The last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills is Sunday, June 18, 2023. To view individual bills, go to Texas Legislature Online – Bill Information https://capitol.texas.gov/Home.aspx Latest actions appear in red. Due to...