Significant Victories
Pettway v. Olvera, No. 14-17-00532-CV, 2018 WL 4016949 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Aug. 23, 2018, no pet. h.) (mem. op.)
Approving sufficiency of expert’s report under Chapter 74, rejecting attack on “believability” of expert’s preliminary report, and holding that a board-certified orthopedic surgeon is qualified to offer an opinion as to the standard of care required of an emergency physician prescribing crutches, even though surgeon was not an emergency physician.
Littell v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 894 F.3d 616 (5th Cir. 2018)
Reversing the dismissal of a civil rights case arising out of a sixth-grade assistant principal's "mass, suspicionless strip search of the underwear of twenty-two preteen girls" in an effort to find a missing $50, finding that the search violated the girls' constitutional rights under Texas and federal law.
Shillinglaw v. Baylor Univ., 05-17-00498-CV, 2018 WL 3062451 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 21, 2018, pet. denied)
The underlying case was a defamation action filed by a fired Baylor coach against several regents. The appeal involved, you guessed it, the anti-slapp MTD the trial court granted. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's grant of attorneys' fees pursuant to Baylor and the Regents' TCPA motion to dismiss.
In the Interest of C.E.C., a minor child, No. 05-17-01482-CV, 2018 WL 3062454 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 21, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.)
Successfully upholding judgment, under a clear and convincing evidence standard, terminating parental rights and imposing permanent injunction against a father convicted of child pornography, and placing the child with her grandparents.
Garcia v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, L.L.C., 893 F.3d 278 (5th Cir. 2018)
Reversing summary judgment in a slip-and-fall case, finding that circumstantial creation evidence—evidence that the owner of a premises created the dangerous condition—can support an inference of knowledge on the part of the owner.
State of Texas v. T.S.N., 547 S.W.3d 617 (Tex. 2018)
In a case of first impression, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the right of a person who is wrongfully accused and later acquitted of a crime to have the records related to that arrest expunged—even though the person was also arrested on an unrelated offense, to which she pled guilty. In affirming the opinion of the Dallas Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court rejected the State’s “arrest based” interpretation, expressly disagreeing with numerous courts of appeals that had adopted this same interpretation. Instead, the Texas Supreme Court concluded that the statute’s plain language is not arrest-based and therefore does not prohibit the expunction of records related to an acquitted offense, even where the arrest includes another, unrelated offense.
McCain v. Promise House, Inc., No. 05-16-00714-CV, 2018 WL 2042009 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 2, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.)
Successfully reversed summary judgment in favor of insured and insurer after defense counsel assigned by insurer agreed to settlement of claims but insured withdrew consent, where insurance policy was a non-consent policy which gave insurer unilateral right to settle case and insured no right to consent or, in this case, withdraw consent.
McRay v. Dow Golub Remels & Beverly, LLP, 554 S.W.3d 702 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2018, no pet.)
Successfully reversed summary judgment awarding law firm unpaid attorney's fees based on law firm's failure to conclusively establish the reasonableness of fees charged to its former client.
Painter v. Amerimex Drilling I, Ltd., 561 S.W.3d 125 (Tex. 2018)
Successfully reversed court of appeals opinion in dispute over vicarious liability of drilling company for its employee's conduct in driving drilling crew to and from drill site. Texas Supreme Court holds that "right to control" test is not an applicable or necessary part of the course-and-scope analysis once the employer-employee relationship is established.
SCI Texas Funeral Servs., Inc. v. Nelson, 540 S.W.3d 539 (Tex. 2018)
Holding that a funeral home owes a common law duty to a deceased's next of kin to not mishandle the deceased’s body and that such a duty need not be based on the existence of a contract.
Tran v. Bennett, 411 P.3d 345 (N.M. 2018)
Reversing parental rights conferred on former husband of biological mother where child already had two legal parents, biological mother and biological father; reversing sanctions imposed on biological parents for taking their child on a family vacation that allegedly interfered with former husband’s scheduled visitation.
VanderLugt v. VanderLugt, 429 P.3d 1269 (N.M. Ct. App. 2018)
As a matter of first impression, holding that wife had no community lien interest in asset of irrevocable trust – a life insurance policy with a net death benefit over $5 million – where husband created and funded the trust prior to marriage.
In re East Texas Med. Ctr., 12-17-00183-CV, 2017 WL 4675511 (Tex. App.—Tyler Oct. 18, 2017, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.)
Successfully defeating hospital's mandamus petition challenging a trial court order taking judicial notice of administrative rules promulgated by the Texas Medical Board.
BoRain Capital, LLC v. Hashmi, 533 S.W.3d 32 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2017, pet. denied)
Successfully challenged trial court’s grant of judgment notwithstanding a verdict following a jury trial in which the jury determined there to be no contract between BoRain and Hashmi. The court of appeals found that the trial court erred in granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict, reversed the trial court's judgment, and rendered judgment that Hashmi take nothing.
Smith v. Johnson, 05-16-01261-CV, 2017 WL 3275517 (Tex. App.—Dallas July 26, 2017, no pet.) (mem. op.)
Successfully defended medical providers’ appeal, challenging the plaintiff’s Chapter 74 expert reports in a case in which the medical providers’ negligence resulted in the amputation of the plaintiff’s leg.
Randell v. Galbreath, No. 11-15-00056-CV, 2017 WL 2698113 (Tex. App.⎯Eastland June 22, 2017, no pet.) (mem. op)
Successfully defended summary judgment granted in favor of lawyers against former client arising out of client's settlement of personal injury claims.
Autosource Dallas, LLC v. Addison Aeronautics, LLC, No. 05-16-00838-CV, 2017 WL 2492787 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 9, 2017, no pet.) (mem. op.)
Successfully defended summary judgment in favor of landlord for unpaid rent by commercial tenant who terminated lease early, but failed to pay full amount of rent owed. Tenant argued that landlord did not sufficiently mitigate its damages by giving new tenant first two months free, and therefore was not required to pay rent it owed for those months. The Dallas Court of Appeals rejected this argument.
State v. T.S.N., 523 S.W.3d 171 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2017), aff'd, 547 S.W.3d 617 (Tex. 2018)
In a case of first impression, the court of appeals affirmed an order granting the expunction of records relating to an arrest for felony aggravated assault for which T.S.N. was subsequently acquitted. The State, claiming that the entire expunction statute is “arrest based,” argued that the records could not be expunged because, when T.S.N. was arrested, she was also arrested on a totally unrelated misdemeanor theft charge to which she ultimately pled guilty. The court of appeals rejected this “arrest-based” interpretation, concluding that, based on the plain language of article 55.01(a)(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a guilty plea to a wholly unrelated offense does not prohibit the expunction of records related to the acquitted offense, even where the arrest arises out of both.
D.A. v. Texas Health Presbyterian Hosp. of Denton, 514 S.W.3d 431 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2017, pet. filed)
Reversed and rendered judgment following permissive appeal, holding that section 74.153 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which applies a lower “willful and wanton” standard of care to medical care provided in a hospital emergency room does not apply to medical care provided an expectant mother in an obstetrical unit.
In the Interest of P.M.K., No. 05-15-01181-CV, 2017 WL 462343 (Tex. App.—Dallas Jan. 30, 2017, no pet.)(mem. op.)
Successfully defended Texas and Louisiana courts' determination that, while Texas court had jurisdiction as the child’s “home state” under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, Louisiana court was the more convenient forum and therefore could exercise jurisdiction over child custody determination.