Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Janet has deep knowledge of Texas government, including the Texas Legislature and Texas Supreme Court. Her policy expertise includes public and higher education funding and policy, civil justice, pension and investment funds, and state budget. Janet's news media career has also included stops at the Houston Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal and Texas Lawyer.
The Fourth Court of Appeals said the case should not have been dismissed last year for want of prosecution at a time when civil jury trials were not available in Kerr County. The case involves Utopia lawyer Patricia Skelton’s claim against her criminal defense lawyer, which previously survived a dismissal when the Texas Supreme Court allowed Skelton to prove her innocence in the malpractice case.
The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could lay out the rules for deciding how to read a drilling lease’s force majeure clause. The case involves a driller’s response to unforeseen circumstances and its miscalculation of a deadline.
Nearly half of those summoned fail to show, leaving courts scrambling to meet a backlog of jury trials, a Texas judicial system official tells a legislative committee. The committee chair vows to elevate policies next session to promote jury service.
The court is being asked to determine whether claims arising out of a resident’s fall on the facility’s sidewalk is a premises liability claim or a health care liability claim requiring an expert report.
Lawyers on opposing sides in a $41 million dispute over offshore drilling differ on the need for a new rule defining the meaning of standard arbitration rules in a contract on the gateway issue of arbitrability. Courts of appeals have split on the issue.
A 2018 dispute over four white tigers caged for viewing at a Houston restaurant has made its way to SCOTX. The dispute is no longer about the tigers — they found a more appropriate habitat. But sanctions levied for a SLAPP suit filed for commercial defamation are keeping the litigation alive. Janet Elliott has the details.
Medical providers offer "letters of protection" to allow uninsured persons to receive medical treatment in anticipation of personal injury settlements. Critics say they can be used to hike the costs of litigation. The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments recently that discovery should allow defendants greater access to the real costs of such medical care. Janet Elliott details the arguments.
Doubling down on a ruling earlier this year that intent governs whether employee lawsuits are excepted from the restrictions of the Texas Workman’s Compensation Act, a unanimous SCOTX tossed a $43.5 million jury verdict for a worker who lost a leg in what the court itself described as “an avoidable, unjustifiable, and grossly negligent accident.” Janet Elliott explains.
In HouseCanary v. Title Source, a scrap over source code pits a 2013 law designed to protect trade secrets against a longstanding rule of Texas Civil Procedure that presumes that court records are open to the public. At stake is not only a jury verdict of more than $700 million, but a longstanding vision of public trust.
Less than four months after its controversial “tired trucker” ruling absolved an employer whose employee died after being required to work excessive hours, the Texas Supreme Court is weighing a $43.5 million jury verdict tossed on appeal because of the court's broadened limits on a worker's right to sue.
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