The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) and the Jones Act are the two statutory recovery schemes available to injured maritime workers. Under the Jones Act, a “seaman” is entitled to recover certain damages from his Jones Act employer. Under the LHWCA, a “longshoreman” recovers under a federally managed workers’ compensation program. The Jones

Unlike many states on the Pacific and Atlantic costs, Texas’ probate process is quicker and comparatively cost efficient.  In fact, Texas offers a several abbreviated probate process (e.g. independent administration, muniment of title, small estate affidavits) that require only limited filings and usually a single brief hearing in order to transfer the property to the

Many clients ask, “How do I keep my house from going into probate when I die?”  A Transfer on Death Deed (“TODD”) is one way to do this.

What is a TODD?  In 2015, Texas enacted Chapter 114 of the Texas Estates Code, which created and authorized the TODD.  Its main purpose is to allow

The upcoming election and concern regarding potential changes have people asking questions about what they can do in 2020 to blunt the impact of a future change in the tax law.  One strategy for people with significant assets will be to give property away while the current tax laws are in place.

As many already

On April 27, 2020, Governor Abbott issued Executive Order GA-18, implementing Phase I to reopen Texas, beginning May 1, 2020. In addition to confirming that “essential services” shall continue to operate as they have, GA-18 provides guidance on services that may reopen as of 12:01 a.m. on Friday.

“Reopened services” include:

  • Retail services that may

In an attempt to mitigate risk, most commercial contracts contain a provision limiting monetary recovery. The most common provision is a waiver of consequential damages. Despite the parties’ best intentions, whether a category of damages are considered direct damages or consequential damages is often determined on a case-by-case basis.  Texas courts have provided the following

Commercial contracts involve a certain amount of risk allocation between the parties. Indemnity provisions are among the most aggressive risk shifting provisions because they can require a party to assume liability for the mistakes of another.  As a result, Texas courts require indemnity provisions to comply with the Fair Notice Doctrine in order to be