Insight & Commentary on Texas Appellate Law
The opinion in Gonzalez v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, reminds me of the philosophical riddle asking whether a tree that falls in the forest when nobody is there to hear it makes a sound.
In this appeal of a forcible detainer action, the appellant argued that Wells Fargo Bank had not controverted any of his evidence showing that he had a…
The Texas Supreme Court has revisited statutory standard for determining when a parent is unemployed or underemployed for purposes of determining child support obligations.
Section 154.066 of the Texas Family Code provides that "[i]f the actual income of the obligor is significantly less than what the obligor could earn because of intentional unemployment or underemployment…
There’s been a spate of recent opinions involving enforcements of settlement agreements. Byron reported on a couple of opinions earlier this week. Today I report on Green v. Midland Mortgage Co. decided by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston. There are four points in this opinion worthy of note:
…
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson will present the "State of the Supreme Court" at the Dallas Bar Association Appellate Section’s monthly meeting at the Belo Mansion. The presentation will be at noon and is good for one hour of CLE credit.
The San Antonio Court of Appeals recently decided two cases dealing with recovery of attorney’s fees for breach of contract. The court first held that a party who brings an action to enforce a Mediated Settlement Agreement (MSA) is not entitled to attorney’s fees under Chapter 38 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code…
The Fourteenth District Court of Appeals in Houston has held that a corporation’s jurisdictional contacts could not be imputed to a nonresident that succeeded to the corporation’s contract rights.
Under the core facts in Motor Components LLC v. Devon Energy Corp., Pennzoil Company, a Delaware corporation located in Texas, contracted with its subsidiary, Purolator Products Company, a Delaware corporation located in Oklahoma. Under the contract, Pennzoil agreed to indemnify Purolator for certain remediation costs of Purolator’s real property located in New York and Michigan. Motor Components, which is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in New York, succeeded to Purolator’s rights under the contract by transactions not described in the appellate record. Motor Components subsequently invoked certain provisions of the contract and called upon Pennzoil’s successor-in-interest, Devon Energy Corporation, to respond. Devon is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Oklahoma. Devon then filed a declaratory judgment action in Texas and sought personal jurisdiction over Motor Components.Continue Reading Personal Jurisdiction in Contract Case with Successor in Interest
Texas Appellate Rule 52.3(k)(1)(A) requires that an appendix to a Petition for Writ of Mandamus must contain a certified or sworn copy of any order complained of, or any other document showing the matter complained of. Appellate courts are very strict in enforcing this requirement. So much so that even when the Respondent trial judge does…
The El Paso Court of Appeals issued an opinion this week that addresses, in part, application of Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 41.0105. There are two takeaways from the Section 41.0105 discussion.
First, the El Paso court joins the majority of intermediate appellate courts in Texas holding that 41.0105 should be handled post-verdict. Frontera Sanitation, LLC …
