Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The Dallas Court of Appeals recently held that an appellee is entitled to voluntary remittitur on rehearing. In this case, the court of appeals originally issued an opinion in which it found the evidence insufficient to support the amount of damages. Because liability was contested, the court reversed the judgment
March 2011
March 2011 Appellate CLE Opportunities
By Mike Northrup on
Posted in News and Events
I’ve got a couple of interesting Appellate CLE opportunities to report this week.
First, the Dallas Bar Association Appellate Law Section is having its monthly luncheon on March 17, 2011 at noon. Speakers include Dallas Court of Appeals Staff Attorneys Judy White, David Tobias, and Greg Lensing. The subject of their talk is called "Something New, Something …
Preserving error to complain of death penalty sanctions
By Mike Northrup on
Posted in Mandamus
In a mandamus setting, it can sometimes be a challenge to ensure that you’ve brought forward all the documents and hearing transcripts required to establish an abuse of discretion. The Houston Fourteenth District Court of Appeals has suggested the record in a death penalty sanctions case may need to be fairly comprehensive. In In re …
Summary Judgment Affidavits: Form vs. Substance
By Mike Northrup on
Posted in Opinions & Judgments
The difference between defects in the form of an affidavit versus defects in substance is not always clear and the appellate courts have not always agreed on what is substantive and what is not. But the difference can be important. As the Dallas Court of Appeals points out in Stone v. Midland Multifamily Equity Reit…