An Email is Still Not a Contract — SCOTX
Emails can be useful tools for negotiation, but they aren't definitive until both sides agree they are, wrote Nathan Hecht in Chalker Energy Partners III v. Le Norman Operating. Janet Elliott has details.
SCOTX: ‘General Easements’ Aren’t a Problem Until They Are
Seventy years ago, utility companies were routinely granted easements across private property of no fixed width. Those "general easements" have become a concern for landowners who fear they give the companies too much power over their private land. Last week, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled on such a case made by three North Texas landowners. Their ruling offered sympathy, but not a lot of help.
The Long, Short Law Career of Mikel Peter Eggert
This week the First Court of Appeals in Austin rejected an appeal by Mikel Peter Eggert to reverse his 2008 disbarment after his conviction for conspiring to falsify evidence. Although his appeal failed, it stirs up a convoluted tale about a newly-minted lawyer in Erath County who briefly followed in his father's messy footsteps practicing law outside the law.
SCOTX: A Tale of Two Lawyers
Two cases decided by the Texas Supreme Court last week involved lawsuits against lawyers. One involved representational immunity, the other criminal defense malpractice. Not all they had to say favored lawyers. Janet Elliott explains.
SCOTX Tosses Bridal Shop Ebola Claim
An Ohio bridal shop lost its claim against Dallas Presbyterian Hospital Friday for its handling of the 2014 Ebola scare in Dallas, when the Texas Supreme Court decided unanimously that the shop's claim failed to meet an essential requirement of the Texas Medical Liability Act. The court ruled, in effect, that when it comes to medical claims bridal shops are people, too.
First COA: Whatever they didn’t do, they didn’t do it in Texas
A $15,000 dispute involving the ill-starred Podesta Group was properly tossed from a Houston court, the First Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The D.C. firm was accused of ignoring their client, a prominent Houston law firm, while the firm's co-founder, Tony Podesta, was under federal scrutiny in the Paul Manafort investigation.
SCOTX, Meet The ‘Fuzzy Animal’ Exception
Fort Worth is trying to control the proliferation of game rooms that have "eight-liners"—slot machines that issue coupons for lavish prizes like game systems or other electronics. The operators of those coin-operated amusement machines are fighting back. Janet Elliott explains the issue and how it relates to Chuck E. Cheese.
Corporate GC Seeks Slice of Contingency Fee Agreement, Then Dies, Then Sues
Ruhrpumpen General Counsel Eugene Moore hired the Cokinos law firm to handle a patent infringement case on a contingency fee. Moore then wanted a share of the fee for himself. But Moore died without informing his bosses he made such a deal. Now his wife wants Cokinos to pay up. But the Dallas Court of Appeals has the final word.
SCOTX: Emails ≠ Contract (at least not here)
In some cases, emails can spell out the terms of a contract. But the Texas Supreme Court ruled last week that landowners seeking compensation for a pipeline never constructed couldn't make that case. Janet Elliott explains.
SCOTX Puts Contract Over Conduct, Ending $500M ETP-Enterprise Partnership Dispute – Updated
The Texas Supreme Court Friday ended an eight-year legal battle between Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners and Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners over a proposed partnership in a pipeline project. In a unanimous opinion, the court effectively wiped out a $535 million judgment, saying the two companies never fully executed their partnership agreement in the first place.