skip to main content

Insights

Loss-of-Use Damages in the Event of a Total Loss

On September 22, 2015, the Texas Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case J&D Towing, LLC v. American Alternative Insurance Corporation, and the ruling could potentially have drastic effects upon how insurers handle and value property damage […]

Derivative Shareholder Litigation Involving Closely Held Corporations

The Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision in Sneed v. Webre strengthened the rights of shareholders of closely held corporations to challenge irresponsible or self-serving corporate management. Sneed v. Webre, No. 12–0045, 2015 WL 3451653 […]

Texas Supreme Court Rules Expert Opinions on Fire Cause Unreliable

This past Friday, the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in Gharda USA, Inc. and Gharda Chemicals, Ltd. v. Control Solutions, Inc., United Phosphorus, Inc., and Mark Boyd; a case that will provide defendants with additional ammunition to attack subrogation […]

Clarifying the Meaning of “Fair Market Value” in Deficiency Suits

Section 51.003 of the Texas Property Code entitles borrowers to an offset against deficiency judgments in the amount the property’s fair market value, if, on the date of foreclosure, the fair market value exceeds the foreclosure sale price. Last month […]

Evidence of Failure to Use a Seatbelt Now Admissible in Texas

In a landmark decision delivered last month in Nabor Well Services, Ltd v. Romero, the Texas Supreme Court overturned more than 40 years of precedent and unanimously reversed the Court's long-standing prohibition on evidence concerning a claimant's failure […]

A New Look at Implied Warranties for Used Goods

Recently, the Supreme Court of Texas examined whether a buyer of used goods may assert claims based on the implied warranty of merchantability.  See MAN Engine & Components, Inc. v. Shows, 434 S.W.3d 132 (Tex. 2014).  The implied warranty of merchantability […]

Spoliation of Evidence in Texas: The Supreme Court Speaks

The advancement of technology, the preservation of electronic evidence, and concerns over imposing sanctions when discoverable electronic evidence is lost as a result of routine business, spurred the Texas Supreme Court to bring much-needed clarity to […]

Texas Supreme Court Limits the Application of the Economic Loss Rule

In Texas, the economic loss rule has been applied by courts to prevent a plaintiff from recovering purely economic losses in a negligence or strict liability action.  In products liability cases, when a loss results from the failure of a product and […]