The Appellate Law Section of the Dallas Bar Association has it’s monthly CLE luncheon scheduled for Thursday, June 16th, at noon. The speakers will be Rob Gilbreath and Kendall Gray. The unique subject of their presentation is titled "Don’t be Ugly: Basic Typography and Document Design for the Legal Writer." This presentation will be
Cracking the “Health Care Liability” Nut
The Texas Legislature may have defined what constitutes a Health Care Liability claim, but as is so often true, facts and circumstances are not always as cut-and-dried as a black-letter definition. The Austin Court of Appeals grappled with this sticky issue in Drewery v. Adventist Health System/Texas Inc. In this case, Planitiff Drewery brought
Appellate Continuing Education Opportunities
Got a couple of good Appellate CLE opportunities coming up:
- The Dallas Bar Appellate Law Section will host Leane Capps Medford at its monthly lunch seminar on Thursday, May 19, 2011, at noon. The subject of Ms. Medford’s talk will be "Recent Changes to the Texas Pattern Jury Charges: What Every Trial and Appellate Lawyer
The Fundamentals: Make A Record for Appeal
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
Child Support Obligations Revisited
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
Enforcement of Settlement Agreements
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:
- First, in an action
Chief Justice Jefferson to Speak to DBA Appellate Section
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.
Personal Jurisdiction in Contract Case with Successor in Interest
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
Mandamus–don’t forget the order
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
March 2011 Appellate CLE Opportunities
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