I. INTRODUCTION
Premises owners of commercial establishments have relied on Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (“Chapter 95”) to defend against negligence actions brought by independent contractors since its advent in 1996. Chapter 95 affords premises owners complete immunity against claims (1) based on the personal injury, death, or property damage
The exception swallowed the rule. The Fifth Circuit essentially overruled the judicially-created voluntary-involuntary limitation to remove a case post-suit based on federal diversity jurisdiction in Advanced Indicator and Manufacturing, Inc. v. Acadia, 50 F.4th 469, 474 (5th Cir. 2022). Accordingly, this means that if you represent a diverse defendant in a state court case,
The Texas Legislature recently repealed the Texas First Purchaser Statute (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 9.343) and replaced it with the Texas First Purchaser Lien Act (now Tex. Prop. Code § 67.002), effective September 1, 2021. This change is designed to give mineral interest owners in Texas assets the same kind of automatically perfected
A significant amendment to the Texas statute that allows for recovery of attorneys’ fees by a prevailing plaintiff in an action for breach of contract will take effect on September 1, 2021. Previously, Texas courts have interpreted Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 38.001 to award attorney fees against only individuals and corporations, not
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
On December 27th, the President signed into law a second pandemic relief package as part of a larger government funding bill passed by Congress entitled The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA”). In March of this year, President Trump signed the first pandemic-related stimulus bill: H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (Public
In the aftermath of hurricanes Laura and Delta, Southwest Louisiana is faced with a widespread reconstruction project the size of which it has not seen in quite a while. While never afraid to roll up the sleeves and get to work, this time the demand for contractors exceeds the local supply. Welcoming help from each
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:
On April 14, the Railroad Commission of Texas held a marathon virtual meeting to hear from nearly sixty of the state’s energy leaders including executives from some of the most prominent oil producers and midstream companies, industry analysts, consultants and academics. A reported 20,000 people tuned into the public meeting from across the globe to
As the coronavirus continues to adversely impact so many, the court systems across the country are adapting in kind, with many of them suspending jury trials and moving to reduced-contact scenarios for other matters. Below is a digest of the most up-to-date information regarding courts in Texas as of the time of this posting. Please