This term the Texas Supreme Court issued a succession of rulings favoring arbitration agreements and refusing to recognize various defenses. It rejected a claim of unconscionability due to excessive costs, held a nonsignatory bound to arbitrate by direct-benefits estoppel, and held that incorporation of AAA Commercial Rules into a contract constitutes a clear and
The Absurdity Doctrine Disfavored by the Courts
The Fifth Circuit and the Texas Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the high bar that must be met to find that the plain language of a statute violates the absurdity doctrine.
Under the absurdity doctrine a court will construe a statute by applying the plain meaning of the words used unless it would lead to absurd
Fifth Circuit Holds That the TCPA Does Not Apply in Federal Courts
Resolving a longstanding uncertainty in federal district courts, the Fifth Circuit has held that the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) conflicts with federal procedural rules and therefore does not apply in diversity cases.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Holds That the TCPA Does Not Apply in Federal Courts
Statute Making it a Crime for a Public Official to Circumvent the Open Meetings Act Held Unconstitutional
In a decision that upends decades of open meetings law, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that the provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act prohibiting a government official from circumventing the Act through a “walking quorum” or “daisy chain” discussion outside of a public meeting is unconstitutionally vague.
Continue Reading Statute Making it a Crime for a Public Official to Circumvent the Open Meetings Act Held Unconstitutional
Fifth Circuit Denies Attorney Fees Where Attorneys Created Claim for Purpose of Generating Excessive Fee Request
The Fifth Circuit has affirmed a denial of all attorney fees under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based on the “outrageous facts” and the conduct of the plaintiff’s attorneys.
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Texas Supreme Court Finds No Cause of Action for Intentional Interference with Inheritance
The Texas Supreme Court resolved a longstanding debate and an unusual split in lower courts by declaring that there is no cause of action for intentional interference with inheritance.
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“Virtual” Business Operations Don’t Establish Venue for Patent Cases
The Federal Circuit has held that “virtual” business operations are insufficient to establish patent venue. And it rejected the widely discussed four-factor approach to patent venue adopted by the Eastern District of Texas, which until recently was the nation’s busiest patent venue.
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Supreme Court Limits Class-Action Tolling
The Supreme Court has held that class action tolling under American Pipe does not toll the time within which a suit must be filed under a statute of repose.
In American Pipe the Court held that “the commencement of a class action suspends the applicable statute of limitations as to all asserted members of the
Patent Exhaustion: A Win for Printer-Ink Refillers and Another Rebuke to the Federal Circuit
Just a week after reversing the Federal Circuit’s longstanding interpretation of patent venue in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group, No. 16-341 (May 22, 2017), the Supreme Court again reversed the Federal Circuit, this time with respect to patent exhaustion.
U.S. patent laws entitle a patent holder to prevent others from making, selling,
Supreme Court Limits Forum Shopping in Patent Cases
In a closely-watched case, the Supreme Court greatly narrowed venue for patent cases. The ruling will limit forum shopping and greatly reduce the number of cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas, which is perceived as the most favorable district for plaintiffs bringing patent claims.
In recent years as many as much as 30-40%