Section 18.001 Affidavits: There’s a Storm Brewing…
Often one of the biggest disputes at trial relates to the value of services that a claimant seeks to recover from the opposing party. At least for routine cases, the form and manner of proving the value of those services is made easier by statute, but when the value of [...]
2019 Courts of Appeals Reversal Rates
I've run the numbers on the reversal rates for the intermediate appellate courts in Texas for the calendar year 2019. The overall reversal rate for the year was 77%. To clarify, when the Supreme Court of Texas granted a petition for review, it reversed the court of appeals 77% of [...]
2019 Texas Supreme Court Numbers are in…
I am crunching the numbers for opinion dispositions by the Supreme Court of Texas for the calendar year 2019. I expect to have a few blog posts showing how the numbers shake out. Here's what the initial numbers show: During the 2019 calendar year, the Supreme Court of Texas disposed [...]
The Scope of Attorney Immunity
In 2015, the Supreme Court of Texas recognized that attorneys do not owe a professional duty of care to third parties who may be damaged by the attorney’s negligent representation of a client. Cantey Hanger, LLP v. Byrd, 467 S.W.3d 477, 481 (Tex. 2015). There are two policy reasons behind [...]
The Value of Court Precedent — Even When It’s “Wrong”
Predictability and stability in the law are essential to our democracy. Each of us makes an untold number of decisions every day, consciously or subconsciously, with respect to what the law requires of us. Drivers operate vehicles according to their understandings of what the law requires. Businesses structure transactions [...]
The Statute of Limitations for Civil Conspiracy Gets a Makeover
For many years now, intermediate Texas appellate courts have uniformly concluded that the statute of limitations period for civil conspiracy claims is two years. The Texas Supreme Court had never formally addressed this question until this year. In Agar Corporation v. Electro Circuits International, LLC, No. 17-0630, 62 Tex. Sup. [...]
First Amendment Rights and the Texas Citizens Participation Act
When claims are brought as a result of a person’s exercise of his or her First Amendment rights, the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) provides protection by ensuring that the claims have legal merit at the outset of the case. The TCPA has been broadly construed and it has been [...]
The “Sham Affidavit” Doctrine is Valid in Texas State Court
A party who submits a summary judgment affidavit that contradicts his or her prior sworn testimony must explain the reason for the conflict or the trial court may disregard the affidavit when deciding whether there is a genuine issue of fact raised to avoid a summary judgment. This rule is [...]
