Insight & Commentary on Texas Appellate Law
The Amarillo Court of Appeals recently confronted an issue not addressed by the appellate rules. While Rule 38.8(a) applies in the event the appellant fails to file a brief, the rules are silent with respect to an appellee’s failure to do so. The Court weighed its options:
Appellees’ failure to file a brief leaves this
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Here’s an interesting factoid you can make use of to amaze and astound your opposing counsel. The Best Evidence Rule, Texas Rule of Evidence 1002, applies only when the the originals are located in Texas. It’s true. It surprised me too.
Kerlin v. Arias, a per curiam opinion issued by the Texas Supreme Court…
Following rendition of a final, appealable judgment, does a notice of appeal have to name all preceeding interlocutory orders as a prerequisite to complaining of those orders? Apparently not. This has been a question of concern for many appellate practitioners and it’s a question that’s been percolating around in the courts of appeals. We now…
The Corpus Christi Court of Appeals recently held that a respondent is entitled to notice and an evidentiary hearing before having its counsel disqualified. First, the court determined it had jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus against a presiding judge of a administrative judicial district because the judge was acting in the capacity of…
In Shaw v. Radionic Industries, Inc., the plaintiff moved for summary judgment against the pro se defendant on a claim for a suit on a sworn account. The court set a hearing for the motion on April 2, 2007. Later, the plaintiff sent a transmittal letter dated March 22, 2007 to the defendant to…
In a dispute over the assessment of costs on appeal, the Houston (First) Court of Appeals recently held that bond forfeiture cases are criminal as opposed to civil. Accordingly, the court redesignated the two appeals at issue as criminal cases with the abbreviation "CR." But for those hoping to avoid civil filing fees as a…
The Beaumont Court of Appeals recently addressed the difference between judicial estoppel and a judicial admission. Plaintiff filed a claim with the EEOC and brought suit against defendant for gender discrimination. After her federal suit was dismissed, she sued the defendant in state court for unlawful termination based on her refusal to perform an illegal act. …
Howard Bashman over at How Appealing had a post yesterday regarding an Eleventh Circuit decision denying a petition for rehearing en banc on the issue of whether obtaining an extraordinary result justifies increasing attorney’s fees awarded under various federal statutes. The order denying rehearing en banc, with multiple dissents, can be found at this link. The orginal panel…
The Amarillo Court of Appeals recently held that a party may be ordered to sign a medical records authorization in response to a request for disclosure pursuant to TRCP 194.2. The defendant served a request for disclosures including a request for execution of an authorization to release medical records under Rule 194.2(j). The plaintiffs argued they could respond by…
What is the proper procedure to preserve error when a trial court refuses to rule on a motion for default judgment?
In Old Republic Insurance Co. v. Sisavath, the trial court refused to rule on the plaintiff’s motion for default judgment and eventually dismissed the case for want of prosecution.
On appeal, the plaintiff argued…
