Appellate Archives - Page 67 of 72

SCOTX Trashes Laredo’s Plastic-Bag-Ban Ordinance

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the City of Laredo’s plastic-bag-ban ordinance is invalid and cannot be enforced because it directly conflicts with a superseding state law passed in 2015.

June 22, 2018 Mark Curriden

State Bar Litigation Section to Recognize Dallas Court of Appeals Chief Justice Carolyn Wright as Texas Legal Legend

The Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas will induct Chief Justice Wright as a Texas Legal Legend at the State Bar’s Annual Meeting in Houston on June 21.

June 6, 2018 Mark Curriden

SCOTX: Context Presumes Intent In Murphy Exploration Lease Case

SCOTX last week ruled in yet another dispute pitting the plain language of oil and gas leases against the variable technology of the industry. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the Fourth Court of Appeals erred when it imputed a more stringent requirement for the placement an offset well in the Eagle Ford Shale than either the actual lease or the realities of horizontal drilling allowed. The Texas Lawbook has the details.

June 4, 2018 Janet Elliott

Appellate Law Expert Moves into Spouse’s Old Office at Gibson Dunn

(June 4) – When James Ho left the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in January to become a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, he left a huge vacancy in the firm’s appellate practice. Turns out the firm didn’t have to look that far to replace him. Meet the other half of a couple some call “legal royalty” in Texas appellate law.

June 3, 2018 Mark Curriden

SCOTX: New Leases End Old Leases – Unless They Don’t

(May 31) – The Texas Supreme Court tried to simplify its earlier rulings on oil and gas titles with a remarkably simple principle: a new lease supplants an old lease unless the new lease says it doesn’t. The ruling is bad news for TRO-X L.P., who sought to collect from Anadarko on a “back-in” option in a lease long-since transferred. The Texas Lawbook has the details.

May 31, 2018 Janet Elliott

Court of Appeals Upholds $11M Judgment In 2013 Casino Bus Crash

The 25-page opinion, written by Justice Jason Boatright, rejected all 15 issues raised on appeal by the Choctaw, including their argument that federal law should preempt state common-law claims involving a federally-licensed motor carrier.

May 30, 2018 Allen Pusey

SCOTX Task Force Recommends Major Change In Texas Bar Exam

After nearly two years of study, a Texas Supreme Court task force has recommended that the state adopt the Universal Bar Exam, an exam that essentially qualifies lawyers to practice

May 16, 2018 Allen Pusey

SCOTX: Dallas Morning News Column maybe ‘Callous’ but not ‘Defamatory’

A 2010 column in The Dallas Morning News may have been “callous,” may have left out key facts and may have even portrayed a North Texas family of being deceptive about the death of their teen-aged son, but the article was an “opinion” piece that was “literally true” and thus not a breach of defamation laws in Texas, the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously.

May 12, 2018 Mark Curriden

Houston Appeals Court Reverses $17M Baylor Drowning Verdict

May 4, 2018 Natalie Posgate

SCOTX Tosses $416K Verdict Against Oncor

The Texas Supreme Court tossed out a $416,000 jury verdict against Oncor Electric citing the failure of the plaintiff, Chaparral Energy, to take its initial complaint to the Public Utility Commission. The court ruled that PUC’s “pervasive regulatory scheme” gives it the exclusive jurisdiction to resolve disputes over such regulated services. Janet Elliott has the details.

April 30, 2018 Janet Elliott