In today’s legal landscape, jury awards to personal injury plaintiffs are trending upwards.  Studies show that “nuclear verdicts” are increasing in prevalence as jurors grow more critical of corporate defendants and are increasingly persuaded by provocative trial tactics from plaintiff attorneys.  However, recent decisions from Louisiana and Texas show that some courts are bucking the

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 Texas Supreme Court has ruled that Chapter 95, a statute that protects property owners from personal injury suits by employees of contractors and subcontractors, applies to claims against property owners for the negligent hiring of the contractor or subcontractor.

In certain circumstances, Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code protects property

Texas law protects property owners from personal injury suits by the employees of independent contractors and subcontractors hired by the property owner to work on an improvement on their property. The Texas Supreme Court is considering whether this protection includes claims for the property owner’s negligent hiring of the contractor or subcontractor.

In certain circumstances,