In 2018 the Supreme Court of Texas established a precedent requiring common law cases involving the operation of utilities, even those involving personal injury, to be reviewed by the Public Utilities Commission before reaching the courts. In three opinions filed since Friday, the court has been recalibrating that requirement. The Lawbook’s Allen Pusey reviews those cases and the issues that caused the court to take a new look at its own precedent.
SCOTX: The World’s Largest Retail Operation Is Not a ‘Seller’
When is a seller not a seller in Texas? When it advertises products online, takes money for them and delivers them to customers, according to the Texas Supreme Court. That opinion was delivered Friday in response to a certified question regarding Amazon.com from the U.S. Fifth Circuit. It was not a unanimous view, as The Lawbook’s Allen Pusey explains.
SCOTX Reaches ‘Wayback’ To Reject Narrowing of Out-of-State Jurisdiction
Invoking a web archive and a social media page as evidence of “purposeful availment,” the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Connecticut company could be sued in Texas, despite its claim that it never had any intention of doing business here.
Fifth Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment Denial in D Magazine Libel Case
The defamation suit brought by a woman accused by D Magazine of living in University Park while on a federal food program took a step closer to trial last week when the Fifth Court of Appeals refused to dismiss her case against the Dallas publication. The court ruled that enough issues of fact have been raised by the plaintiff to preclude a summary judgment. Allen Pusey has details.
Justice Eva Guzman Resigns From Texas Supreme Court
The first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in 2010, Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman announced Monday that she is resigning from the state’s highest court this coming Friday. Guzman, who has been a judge in Texas for 22 years, gained a reputation as an aggressive questioner during oral arguments. The Texas Lawbook’s Allen Pusey has the details.
SCOTX Supports Electronic MAAs; Justice Boyd’s Dylanesque Dissent
When the Texas Supreme Court reversed a trial court on an issue over electronic signatures, Justice Jeffrey Boyd had a problem. The court had already decided the case, he noted in dissent, 90 years ago. The Lawbook’s Allen Pusey reviews Judge Boyd’s singular opinion in which he takes Bob Dylan along for the ride.
SCOTX Extends Immunity to Transactional Lawyers, Limits on Lawyer Media Outreach
In two decisions filed Friday, the Texas Supreme Court extended long overdue immunity from non-client lawsuits to the work of transactional lawyers, but declared limits on lawyer media outside the courtroom. The Lawbook has the details.
Litigator Mary Nix Moves To Lynn Pinker
Mary Goodrich Nix, a major league litigation partner with all-star credentials, is leaving Holland & Knight for Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann. Her last day at H&K was Monday.
The move comes more than a month after the Miami-headquartered firm publicly acknowledged merger talks with Dallas-based Thompson & Knight. But that’s not the reason for the move, according to Nix. The Texas Lawbook has the story.
Updated: Judge Dismisses NRA Bankruptcy as “Not Filed In Good Faith”
A bankruptcy petition filed by the National Rifle Association in January was dismissed Tuesday afternoon by a federal bankruptcy judge who declared the controversial petition as having been filed in bad faith.
NDTX Judge to Rule on Motion to Dismiss NRA Bankruptcy
A North Texas bankruptcy judge is set to determine — as early as today — whether a solvent National Rifle Association will be allowed to proceed with its request for bankruptcy protection in Texas. The petition has been challenged as a bad faith filing designed by the NRA to wrest itself from accountability in New York, where the organization was created in 1871. The Lawbook has the details.