So you are a party to a new civil litigation case, which means you have either sued someone or just been sued. Your lawyer sends you an email that the Court has just set your case for a non-jury trial for a date in the future. In the same email, your lawyer asks if you
Piercing the Corporate Veil in Texas
Texas has long been one of the best locations to start a business, and a big reason for this is the liability protection afforded by the business-friendly Texas courts. Most business owners seek to limit their personal liability if something goes wrong with the business. This leads to one of the questions I get
Texas Does Not Recognize Self-Publication Defamation
The Texas Supreme Court has rejected the theory of defamation by compelled self-publication. Say what? you ask? Compelled self-publication occurs most often in the employment context, where a terminated employee is compelled to inform subsequent potential employers why the employee was terminated from the employee’s last job. As the theory goes, if an employer
Texas Passes State-Wide Texting While Driving Ban
Good news middle aged drivers! Today the Texas Legislature has passed HB 60, making it illegal to text and drive in Texas. The new legislation is headed to Governor Abbot’s desk, who is expected to sign the bill. Based on the language of the final bill that passed both houses, it is an affirmative defense
Why do juries matter?
I have been writing on this blog about how Dallas County juries have shifted over the years from pro-defense to pro-plaintiff, or at least to a point where most prospective jurors in Dallas County don’t necessarily consider lawsuits a bad thing. In the era of tort reform, this attitude among prospective jurors in Dallas
Dallas County Juries, part III
Previously I posted about Dallas County juries here and here. Last week a federal jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $1.041 billion to six plaintiffs who received defectively-designed hip implants. Of the total verdict, $32 million was for compensatory damages, and the rest was for punitive damages. The federal jury that ordered Johnson
Dallas County juries, Part II
I recently posted about the recent survey of prospective Dallas County jurors’ opinions and beliefs here. Based on the survey’s results and my own observations, I felt that Dallas County had changed from neutral to plaintiff-friendly in terms of likely jury panels. Assuming that blue leans more plaintiff-friendly, the recent election results support my
Surprising Reasons for Health Care Liability Lawsuits.
As most people who know me know, I am a registered pharmacist in addition to being a lawyer. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy in December 1992, and passing the Rhode Island pharmacist licensure exam in February 1993, I practiced pharmacy in various settings until graduating SMU’s Dedman School of
October Showers Bring … Mud Problems?
While perhaps fun for kids, unusually heavy rain can cause problems for commercial property landlords, including flooding, mudslides, and mud buildup.
According to visitdallas.com, October ties with April for the second wettest month in Dallas (not surprisingly, May is first). October averages 3.5 inches
For once and for all, who are the beneficiaries under Texas’ Wrongful Death Statute?
I look this up every time it comes up. For once and for all, the beneficiaries under Texas’s Wrongful Death Statute are the surviving spouse, children, and parents of the deceased. This includes adopted children and common law spouses, but does not include same-sex spouses (yet). The class of plaintiffs also includes so-called “illegitimate” biological