Supreme Court of Texas Decisions 2015

In re RSR Corp. and Quemetco Metals Ltd., Inc. (Opinion)  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0499

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against Defendant, alleging breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets. Concerned by Plaintiffs’ counsel’s (Counsel) exposure to certain documents as a result of Counsel working…

Kingsaire, Inc. v. Melendez (Opinion)  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0006

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Defendant for breach of contract and for wrongfully discharging him in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim in good faith. Plaintiff’s breach of contract claim related to Defendant’s…

Galvan v. Memorial Hermann Hosp. Sys. (Per Curiam)  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0410

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Hospital, alleging that she was injured when she slipped on water on the floor. Hospital filed a motion to dismiss, asserting that Plaintiff’s claim was a health care liability claim (HCLC), and Plaintiff…

BNSF Ry. Co. v. Phillips (Per Curiam)  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0530

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued BNSF Railway Company, his employer, under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act and the Locomotive Inspection Act to recover damages for a latent occupational injury. After a jury trial, the trial court…

Texas Dep’t of Pub. Safety v. Bonilla (Per Curiam)  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0694

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident that occurred when a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper ran a red light while pursuing a reckless driver. Plaintiff filed suit against DPS, relying on the…

U.S. Metals, Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Group, Inc. (Opinion)  
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0753

Justia Opinion Summary: U.S. Metals, Inc. sold ExxonMobil Corp. approximately 350 flanges for use in constructing diesel refinery processing units. In post-installation testing, several flanges leaked, and ExxonMobil decided it was necessary to…

Reddic v. E. Texas Med. Ctr. Reg’l Health Care Sys. (Per Curiam)  
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0333

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a visitor at Hospital, fell when she slipped on a floor mat in the hospital lobby. Plaintiff sued Hospital on a premises liability theory. Hospital asserted that Plaintiff’s claim was a health care liability…

Cascos v. Tarrant County Democratic Party (Per Curiam)  
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0470

Justia Opinion Summary: Political parties may apply to the Secretary of State for state funds to reimburse expenses connected with administering primary elections. After Wendy Davis was certified as the Democratic nominee for State Senate…

Bank of America, N.A. v. Eisenhauer (Per Curiam)  
Date: October 30, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0486

Justia Opinion Summary: Lorene and Harley Walter owned a certificate of deposit account with Bank of America. The account was a survivorship account and a payable-on-death account. After Harley died and while Lorene was still alive, the Bank…

Kachina Pipeline Co., Inc. v. Lillis (Opinion)  
Date: October 9, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0596

Justia Opinion Summary: Kachina Pipeline Co., a pipeline operator, and Michael Lillis, a natural-gas producer, entered into a Gas Purchase Agreement. Kachina bought, transported, and resold Lillis’s gas according to the Agreement. Lillis later…

Office of Attorney Gen. v. Weatherspoon (Per Curiam)  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0582

Justia Opinion Summary: After Ginger Weatherspoon was fired from her position as an assistant attorney general at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Weatherspoon sued the OAG under the Whistleblower Act. The OAG filed a plea to the…

Lawson v. City of Diboll (Per Curiam)  
Date: September 18, 2015
Docket Number: 15-0037

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a spectator at a youth softball game was injured in a trip-and-fall accident while exiting a baseball complex in a City park. Plaintiff filed a premises-liability lawsuit against the City, alleging that the…

Dallas Nat’l Ins. Co. v. De La Cruz (Per Curiam)  
Date: August 28, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0814

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Employee was working for Employer when she fell, injuring her left knee and back. In 2009, Employee filed a claim for lifetime income benefits (LIBs) pursuant to section 408.161 of the Texas Workers’…

In re Williams (Per Curiam)  
Date: August 19, 2015
Docket Number: 15-0581

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this mandamus proceeding was the City of Houston’s equal rights ordinance. Relators - two signers of a referendum petition calling for the repeal of the ordinance - contested the wording of the ballot…

City of Ingleside v. City of Corpus Christi (Per Curiam)  
Date: July 24, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0548

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a boundary dispute between the City of Ingleside and the City of Corpus Christi over the scope of an ordinance establishing the adjacent bay waters’ “shoreline” as the common border. Each city claimed…

Kay Venture, Ltd. v. Cremona Bistro Corp. (Per Curiam)  
Date: July 24, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0629

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent sued Petitioners and attempted to serve Petitioners by using Petitioners’ registered address on file with the Secretary of State’s office. Petitioners, however, had moved several years earlier and had failed…

In re Jared Woodfill (Per Curiam)  
Date: July 24, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0667

Justia Opinion Summary: After the Houston City Council adopted an equal rights ordinance, Relators - residents of the City of Houston - organized a petition drive calling for the City Council to repeal the ordinance or put it to popular vote.…

Patel v. Dep’t of Licensing & Regulation (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0657

Justia Opinion Summary: Certain provisions of the Texas Occupations Code and Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation rules promulgated pursuant to that Code require eyebrow threaders to undergo 750 hours of training in order to obtain a…

Greater Houston P’ship v. Paxton (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0745

Justia Opinion Summary: Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) is a nonprofit corporation providing economic development services to the City and other clients pursuant to quid pro quo contracts. A Houston area resident submitted to GHP a request…

Cantey Hanger, LLP v. Byrd (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0861

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the scope of attorneys’ immunity from civil liability to non-clients. Philip Byrd and Nancy Simenstad commenced divorce proceedings. Simenstad was represented in the proceedings by Cantey…

Beeman v. Livingston (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0867

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners in this case were deaf inmates housed in a unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Petitioners sued TDCJ’s executive director, asserting that he violated the Texas Human Resources Code by…

In re Royston, Rayzor, Vickery, & Williams, LLP (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-0109, 13-1026

Justia Opinion Summary: Francisco Lopez hired Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams, LLP (the Firm) to represent him in a divorce suit. The attorney-client employment contract between the parties contained an arbitration provision specifying that…

Cosgrove v. Cade (Dissenting)
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0346
Cosgrove v. Cade (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0346

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Respondents sued Petitioner over two acres of land that Petitioner purchased from Respondents in 2006 through a trust. The deed mistakenly - but unambiguously - failed to reserve mineral rights. When Respondents…

McGinnes Indus. Maint. Corp. v. Phoenix Ins. Co. (Opinion)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0465

Justia Opinion Summary: McGinnes Industrial Waste Corporation dumped pulp and paper mill waste sludge into disposal pits near the San Jacinto River in Pasadena, Texas (the site). After environmental contamination was discovered at the site, the…

In re Dow (Per Curiam)  
Date: June 26, 2015
Docket Number: 15-0205

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Criminal Appeals held David Dow, a post-trial capital defense attorney, in contempt for violating Court of Criminal Appeals Miscellaneous Rule 11-003 and suspended him from practicing before it for one year.…

State v. Naylor (Concurring)
Date: June 19, 2015
Docket Number: 11-0222
State v. Naylor (Dissenting)
Date: June 19, 2015
Docket Number: 11-0222
State v. Naylor (Dissenting)
Date: June 19, 2015
Docket Number: 11-0222
State v. Naylor (Opinion)  
Date: June 19, 2015
Docket Number: 11-0222

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents, a same-sex couple who were married in Massachusetts, sought a divorce in Texas. The two women settled their differences, and the trial court orally granted an ostensible divorce pursuant to the parties’…

The Boeing Co. v. Paxton (Opinion)  
Date: June 19, 2015
Docket Number: 12-1007

Justia Opinion Summary: One of the exceptions to the Texas Public Information Act purports to protect information that “if released, would give advantage to a competitor or bidder.” A former Boeing employee submitted a Public Information Act…

Suarez v. City of Texas City (Opinion)  
Date: June 19, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0947

Justia Opinion Summary: This premises-liability case arose from the drowning deaths of a young father and his twin daughters at a man-made beach. The mother and surviving spouse of the decedents (Plaintiff) filed suit against the City of Texas…

Dacus v. Parker (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0047

Justia Opinion Summary: A narrow majority of voters in the City of Houston adopted an amendment to their City Charter that was approved in the November 2, 2010 election. The amendment created a “Dedicated Pay-As-You-Go Fund for Drainage and…

Harris County Flood Control Dist. v. Kerr (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0303

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs in this case were more than 400 residents and homeowners in the upper White Oak Bayou watershed in Harris County. From 1998 to 2002, most of Plaintiffs’ homes were inundated in three successive floods.…

Kachina Pipeline Co., Inc. v. Lillis (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0596

Justia Opinion Summary: Kachina Pipeline Co., a pipeline operator, and Michael Lillis, a natural-gas producer, entered into a Gas Purchase Agreement. Kachina bought, transported, and resold Lillis’s gas according to the Agreement. Lillis later…

Plains Exploration & Prod. Co. v. Torch Energy Advisors, Inc. (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0597

Justia Opinion Summary: In a 1996 purchase and sale agreement Torch Energy Advisors Inc. sold its leasehold interests in undeveloped oil and gas fields located under federal waters. Certain interests were excluded from the conveyance. A decade…

Valdez v. Bernard (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0709

Justia Opinion Summary: A number of civil disputes arose from the discovery that a probate clerk had looted millions of dollars from the estates of Bexar County residents who had died intestate. The case involved an intestate estate defrauded…

Zorilla v. Aypco Constr. II, LLC (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0067

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this residential construction dispute was whether the statutory cap on exemplary damages is waived if not pleaded as an affirmative defense or avoidance. The trial court affirmed an exemplary damages award in…

Austin v. Kroger Texas, LP (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0216

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff fell while mopping a restroom floor at a Kroger store. Plaintiff’s employer, Kroger Texas, LP, had elected not to subscribe to the Texas workers’ compensation system. Plaintiff filed suit against Kroger in…

Seabright Ins. Co. v. Lopez (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0272

Justia Opinion Summary: Candelario Lopez, who was hired by Interstate Treating to work on the installation of a gas processing plant, was transporting two other Interstate Treating employees to the job site when he died in an automobile…

Chesapeake Exploration, LLC v. Hyder (Opinion)  
Date: June 12, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0302

Justia Opinion Summary: As a general matter, an overriding royalty on oil and gas production is free of production costs but must bear its share of postproduction costs unless the parties agree otherwise. In this case, the Hyder family leased…

Sneed v. Webre (Opinion)  
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0045

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, a shareholder of a closely held parent corporation asserted a derivative lawsuit on behalf of the corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary against one of the subsidiary’s directors and several of the…

In re Memorial Hermann Hosp. Sys. (Opinion)  
Date: May 22, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0171

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a cardiothoracic surgeon who practiced at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center until 2012. When Plaintiff agreed to practice at Methodist West, Defendants - Memorial Hermann and certain healthcare…

Shell Oil Co. v. Writt (Opinion)  
Date: May 15, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0552

Justia Opinion Summary: After Shell Oil Company and Shell International, E&P, Inc. (collectively, Shell) received notice from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by one of its…

Phillips v. Carlton Energy Group, LLC (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0255

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and the main defendant (Defendant) both wanted an interest in a coalbed methane exploration prospect in Bulgaria. Plaintiff sued Defendant, alleging that Defendant obtained his interest by tortiously…

Gharda USA, Inc. v. Control Solutions, Inc. (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0987

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of a warehouse fire in Pasadena, Texas. Plaintiffs, the company that leased the warehouse and the company that stored materials in the warehouse, sued Defendants, the suppliers of the chlorpyrifos…

Genie Industries, Inc. v. Matak (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0042

Justia Opinion Summary: The users of an aerial lift supporting a worker forty feet in the air attempted to move the machine. The worker fell to the ground and died. This action for wrongful death and survivor damages ensued. Petitioner…

RSUI INDEMNITY COMPANY v. THE LYND COMPANY (Dissenting)
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0080
RSUI Indemnity Co. v. Lynd Co. (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0080

Justia Opinion Summary: The insured in this case (Insured) managed the insurance needs of more than 100 commercial properties. Insured purchased an excess policy from Insurer. The excess insurance policy limited the coverage to “the least” of…

Abutahoun v. Dow Chemical Co. (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0175

Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Henderson, a pipeline insulation worker who had contracted mesothelioma, alleged that he was exposed to asbestos-containing products while working as an independent contractor at Dow Chemical Company’s facility.…

City of Dallas v. TCI West End, Inc. (Per Curiam)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0795

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Dallas sued TCI West End, Inc. for civil penalties under Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code 54.017, as authorized by section 54.012, asserting that TCI violated a city ordinance by demolishing a building located in a…

Ventling v. Johnson (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0095

Justia Opinion Summary: When Wayne Ventling initiated divorce proceedings seeking to end a common-law marriage to Patricia Johnson the parties entered into an agreement that included contractual alimony payments to Johnson. Thereafter, Ventling…

Gonzalez v. Ramirez (Per Curiam)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0107

Justia Opinion Summary: Cuahutemoc Gonzalez contracted with several companies, including a company owned by Robert Garcia, to transport silage from a farm. Garcia brought to the farm a tandem truck and a new driver, Raymond Ramierz. During the…

In re Longview Energy Co. (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0175

Justia Opinion Summary: To suspend execution of a money judgment on appeal, a judgment debtor must post security as required by Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 52.006 and Tex. R. App. P. 24. The security must cover compensatory damages, interest,…

Life Partners Holdings, Inc. v. State (Opinion)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-0226, 14-0122

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in these two separate cases was whether a life settlement agreement or viatical settlement agreement is an investment contract and thus a security under the Texas Securities Act. In one case, Plaintiffs filed a…

Molina v. Alvarado (Per Curiam)  
Date: May 8, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0536

Justia Opinion Summary: Elias Alvarado filed a complaint against the City of McCamey for negligence and negligence per se, claiming that governmental employee Jesus Molina was driving a city vehicle under the influence of alcohol when he struck…

Ross v. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hosp. (Opinion)  
Date: May 1, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0439

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a visitor to St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, slipped and fell in an area of the lobby where the floor was being cleaned and buffed. Plaintiff sued the Hospital on a premises liability theory. The Hospital…

In re Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0946

Justia Opinion Summary: Two nonresident minors filed suit against Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, the manufacturer of an allegedly defective tire that failed, causing a rollover that killed the children’s parents. The minors sued by…

State v. Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0053

Justia Opinion Summary: The State condemned two adjacent parcels of property that the owners had leased to Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. for outdoor advertising. Clear Channel had built a billboard on each parcel. The State maintained that its…

Tex. Student Housing Auth. v. Brazos County Appraisal Dist. (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0593

Justia Opinion Summary: The Texas Student Housing Authority (TSHA) had title to the Cambridge at College Station, a student-residential facility near two college campuses. In the summers of 2005 to 2008, TSHA provided lodging at the Cambridge…

Brown & Gay Eng’g, Inc. v. Olivares (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0605

Justia Opinion Summary: The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (the Authority) was a local government corporation created to design, build, and operate the Westpark Tollway. The Authority lawfully contracted with Brown & Gay Engineering, Inc.…

JAW The Pointe, LLC v. Lexington Ins. Co. (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0711

Justia Opinion Summary: JAW The Pointe, LLC obtained insurance to cover an apartment complex located in Galveston from an insurer that purchased several policies providing multiple layers of coverage for the 300 complexes it insured. Lexington…

Vernco Constr., Inc. v. Nelson (Per Curiam)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0750

Justia Opinion Summary: In this commercial dispute, Petitioner obtained a $6 million breach-of-contract and tort judgment against Respondents. After filing the lawsuit, Petitioner assigned its claims to its commercial lender. Respondents filed…

Lippincott v. Whisenhunt (Per Curiam)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0926

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, administrators at a healthcare facility, allegedly made disparaging comments about Respondent, a certified nurse anesthetist. Respondent filed suit against Petitioners for defamation, among other claims,…

In re Lipsky (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0928

Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Lipsky, concerned that an oil and gas operator close to his property (“Range”), had some responsibility for contaminating his ground water, complained about the gas in his well to the Environmental Protection…

San Antonio Water Sys. v. Nichols (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0966

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, a former employee of San Antonio Water System (SAWS), sued SAWS under the Texas Commission on Human Rights (TCHRA), alleging that SAWS retaliated against her for opposing a discriminatory employment practice.…

JLG Trucking, LLC v. Garza (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0978

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was involved in two car accidents three months apart. After the second accident, Plaintiff sued the opposing driver in the first accident, alleging that the first collision caused her injuries. Defendant…

Randol Mill Pharmacy v. Miller (Opinion)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 13-1014

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff suffered a severe adverse reaction to a compounded drug administered by her physician that left her permanently blind in both eyes. Plaintiff sued the compounding pharmacy and several of its licensed-pharmacist…

William Marsh Rice Univ. v. Rafael (Per Curiam)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0048

Justia Opinion Summary: William Marsh Rice University (Rice University), a private institution of higher education, employed Officer Gary Spears as a commissioned peace officer at its police department. Officer Spears arrested Rasheed Rafaey…

Van Ness v. ETMC First Physicians (Per Curiam)  
Date: April 24, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0353

Justia Opinion Summary: Following their two-month-old’s death from whooping cough, Plaintiffs sued Kristin Ault, D.O. and her employer, ETMC First Physicians, alleging that Dr. Ault’s negligence caused the infant’s death and that ETMC was…

PLAINSCAPITAL BANK v. WILLIAM MARTIN (Dissenting)
Date: March 27, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0337
PlainsCapital Bank v. Martin (Opinion)  
Date: March 27, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0337

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent borrowed money from Bank pursuant to a construction loan agreement and promissory note. Defendant secured his obligations by executing a deed of trust on property. After Respondent defaulted on the note, Bank…

Nabors Well Servs., Ltd. v. Loera (Per Curiam)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0126

Justia Opinion Summary: This case stemmed from a collision between a tractor-trailer owned by Nabors Well Services, Ltd. and a pickup truck occupied by three family members (the Loeras). During trial, the court admitted evidence that the Loeras…

G.T. Leach Builders, LLC v. Sapphire V.P., L.P. (Opinion)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0497

Justia Opinion Summary: A property developer filed suit against several defendants involved in a construction project asserting claims for negligence and breach of contract. Defendants filed motions to compel arbitration, which the trial court…

Klumb v. Houston Municipal Employees Pension Sys. (Opinion)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0515

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners, former employees of the City of Houston, filed suit against the Houston Municipal Employees Pension System (HMEPS) board members, asserting that the board members violated HMEPS’s enabling statute by…

Southwestern Bell Telephone, LP v. Emmett (Opinion)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0584

Justia Opinion Summary: Southwestern Bell Telephone, LP, doing business as AT&T Texas, was a public utility company with facilities attached to a city bridge designated for destruction. AT&T sued the City of Houston and the Harris County…

Kallinen v. City of Houston (Per Curiam)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0015

Justia Opinion Summary: Invoking the Texas Public Information Act (PIA), Randall Kallinen requested information from the City of Houston regarding a study of traffic light cameras the City had commissioned. The City withheld some documents and…

In re Conner (Per Curiam)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0177

Justia Opinion Summary: Donald and Crystal Peel were traveling in their van when they were struck by a truck driven by Michael Conner and owned by Conner's employer. In 2004, the Peels sued Conner and his employer (collectively, Conner). Conner…

Stribling v. Millican DPC Partners, LP (Per Curiam)  
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0500

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners and Respondents were adjacent landowners who disputed ownership of a tract of land in a heavily wooded area. Respondents asserted record title to the tract. Petitioners asserted adverse possession.…

KCM Financial LLC v. Bradshaw (Opinion)  
Date: March 6, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0199

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this oil and gas dispute was the validity of a mineral lease on nearly two thousand acres of land in north Texas. The non-participating royalty interest holder (non-executive) claimed the executive-right…

Fredericksburg Care Co., LP v. Perez (Opinion)  
Date: March 6, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0573

Justia Opinion Summary: Elisa Zapata died while under the care of the Fredericksburg Care Company, LP, a nursing home. Zapata’s death and survival beneficiaries sued Fredericksburg, alleging negligent care and wrongful death. Fredericksburg…

Am. Star Energy & Minerals Corp. v. Stowers (Opinion)  
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0484

Justia Opinion Summary: A judgment creditor attempted to collect from a partnership after receiving a judgment against the partnership. The partnership proved to be undercapitalized, and its assets could not satisfy the judgment debt. The…

In re Crawford & Co. (Per Curiam)  
Date: February 27, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0256

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Glenn Johnson suffered serious work-related injuries. In separate administrative proceedings, the parties contested the details and amounts of the lifetime workers’ compensation benefits Johnson was entitled to.…

Nabors Well Servs., Ltd. v. Romero (Opinion)  
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0136

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court overruled its long-standing rule prohibiting self belt evidence in car accident cases. This ruling was the result of the Legislature’s overhaul of Texas’s system for apportioning fault in…

IN RE DEEPWATER HORIZON (Dissenting)
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0670
In re Deepwater Horizon (Opinion)  
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0670

Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute arose from the 2010 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig, which killed eleven people and resulted in extensive subsurface discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three…

Wackenhut Corp. v. Gutierrez (Per Curiam)  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0136

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner owned and operated a charter bus that collided with a car driven by Respondent. Respondent filed this negligence action against Petitioner seeking damages for the injuries he sustained in the collision. Before…

Envtl. Processing Sys., LC v. FPL Farming Ltd. (Opinion)  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0905

Justia Opinion Summary: A landowner sued its neighbor, the operator of an adjacent wastewater disposal facility, alleging that wastewater had migrated into the deep subsurface of its land, possibility contaminating the groundwater beneath it.…

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Murphy (Opinion)  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0236

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents obtained a home-equity loan from Wells Fargo Bank. After Respondents stopped making loan payments, Wells Fargo filed an application in the district court for an expedited court order authorizing foreclosure.…

Ryder Integrated Logistics, Inc. v. Fayette County (Per Curiam)  
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0968

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from the deadly collision of two eighteen-wheeled commercial trucks. Petitioner filed this third-party claim against Fayette County, alleging that the collision was caused by a County deputy sheriff.…

Hooks v. Samson Lone Star, Ltd. P’ship (Opinion)  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 12-0920

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a mineral owner, sued Defendant alleging breach of contract, failure to pay royalties, and fraud. The claims centered on three oil and gas leases that Plaintiff, the lessor, executed with Defendant, the…

In re Office of the Attorney Gen. of Tex. (Per Curiam)  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0038

Justia Opinion Summary: The Office of the Attorney General filed an action against Cornelius Jackson seeking to establish his paternity and to compel him to pay child support. The associate judge issued a temporary order establishing the…

Farm Bureau County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Rogers (Per Curiam)  
Date: January 30, 2015
Docket Number: 14-0279

Justia Opinion Summary: Farm Bureau County Mutual Insurance Company filed this declaratory judgment action against Cristil Rogers, Farm Bureau’s insured, seeking a declaration that it had no duty to defend or indemnify Rogers in an underlying…

Nat’l Prop. Holdings, L.P. v. Westergren (Per Curiam)  
Date: January 9, 2015
Docket Number: 13-0801

Justia Opinion Summary: Gordon Westergren was involved in a lawsuit regarding the purchase of highly desired property. The lawsuit went to mediation, which resulted in National Property Holdings, L.P. (NPH) agreeing to purchase the property.…

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