Supreme Court of Texas Decisions 2013
Date: December 13, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0183
Date: December 13, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0183
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father divorced pursuant to a decree that named Mother as the parent with the exclusive right to designate the parties' children's primary residence and ordered Father to pay child support. Three years later,…
Date: December 13, 2013
Docket Number: 13-0072
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, a principal at a school in the Yesleta Independent School District (ISD), reported various "asbestos hazards" in the school to certain school officials. Eventually, the ISD indefinitely suspended Respondent.…
Date: November 22, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0213
Justia Opinion Summary: A commercial tenant remained in possession of premises for six years after it lost its lease when the property was sold through foreclosure. The tenant ultimately conceded that the foreclosure terminated the lease and…
Date: November 22, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0213
Date: November 22, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0685
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a public nonprofit organization that provided mental health care to county residents. Plaintiff was a patient who sued Defendant after being struck by a falling whiteboard. Defendant pled immunity under the…
Date: November 22, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0721
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, a firefighter for the Houston Fire Department, suffered an on-the-job injury in 1988. The City of Houston and Respondent entered into a settlement agreement under which Respondent would receive lifetime…
Date: November 1, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0636
Justia Opinion Summary: After the Department of Family and Protective Services placed two children with Foster Parents, Mother relinquished her parental rights and Father was arrested and deported to Mexico. The trial judge entered an order in…
Date: October 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0274
Justia Opinion Summary: The city of Laredo filed suit to condemn Respondents' property. A jury found that the City had no authorized public use for the property and awarded Respondents attorney's fees and expenses under Tex. Prop. Code…
Date: September 27, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0732
Justia Opinion Summary: Stephanie Lee and Benjamin Redus were the parents and joint managing conservators of their minor daughter. A 2007 order adjudicating parentage gave Stephanie the exclusive right to designate the child's primary…
Date: September 20, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0737
Justia Opinion Summary: This proceeding arose from an application to amend an existing water-quality permit filed by the owner and operator of a dairy farm located in the North Bosque River watershed. The City of Waco and Bosque River Coalition…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0933
Justia Opinion Summary: Decedent's family (the Kings) sued Toyota and the local Toyota dealership after Decedent lost control of his Toyota, which rolled over several times. The Kings asserted that the Toyota's allegedly defective seat belt…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0933
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0195
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a Texas company, sued nonresident Defendants in Texas. Plaintiff asserted claims for (1) trade-secret misappropriation regarding a proposed Texas venture during two meetings Defendants attended in Texas, and…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0265
Justia Opinion Summary: The Fort Worth Diocese was formed in 1982 and was admitted into union with The Episcopal Church (TEC). The Fort Worth Corporation was formed the next year. After a doctrinal controversy arose within the TEC, the Forth…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0265
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0332
Justia Opinion Summary: Title to property of a local church (the Good Shepherd) was held by a Texas non-profit corporation (Corporation). The Corporation was formed as a condition of Good Shepherd's congregation being accepted into union with…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0332
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0332
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0438
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was working for a BP Amoco Chemical Company (BP) contractor in 2005 when BP's Texas City refinery exploded, killing fifteen workers and injuring many others. Plaintiff signed a power of attorney retaining…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0438
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0541
Justia Opinion Summary: James Olis, a former officer of Dynegy, Inc., was indicted on multiple counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Olis hired attorney Terry Yates to defend him in the federal criminal investigation and a…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0541
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0549
Justia Opinion Summary: Joel Martinez died after ingesting heroin with Defendant. Plaintiff, individually and as representative of Martinez's estate, sued Defendant under wrongful death and survival statutes, alleging that Defendant was…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0549
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0554
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Lorena approved a subdivision plat. The City, however, subsequently enforced a moratorium against the property, citing the municipality's additional sewage system capacity requirements. The landowner sued for…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0554
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0554
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0686
Justia Opinion Summary: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 101.106 bars a suit against a governmental unit after a plaintiff sues the unit's employee regarding the same subject matter. However, if the employee is sued for acts conducted within the…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0686
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0826
Justia Opinion Summary: Reginald Lane, individually and as personal representative of Decedent's estate, filed suit under the Texas Medical Liability Act (TMLA) against anesthesiologist Michael Zanchi, alleging negligence. Zanchi was not served…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0826
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0934
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant suffered a compensable injury to his right ankle in 1991 and developed reflex sympathetic dystrophy in the injured ankle. In 1997, the appeals panel determined Claimant was entitled to Lifetime Income Benefits…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0934
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0601
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was employed by the Canutillo Independent School District as executive director of facilities and transportation. After reporting alleged financial improprieties to the District authorities, Respondent was…
Date: August 30, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0628
Justia Opinion Summary: Stephen filed suit against a former business partner, Evan, in Nevada and prevailed on his claims. To collect on the judgment, Stephen filed another suit in Nevada against both Evan and Marc, alleging that Evan had…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0394
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0394
Justia Opinion Summary: Homes built with an exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS) suffer serious water damage that worsens over time. Homebuilder began a remediation program in which it offered to homeowners to remove exterior EIFS from…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0441
Justia Opinion Summary: The Time Cole Act (Act) entitles a person who has been wrongfully imprisoned to compensation from the State. Payments terminate, however, if, after the date the person becomes eligible for compensation, the person is…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0729
Justia Opinion Summary: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (Commission) granted an amendment to a dairy concentrated animal feeding operation's water-quality permit. A downstream city (City) sought to intervene in the permit process…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0388
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0388
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was a psychiatric nurse employed by Employer, a health care provider. Employee was injured at work while restraining a psychiatric patient. Employee filed a negligence action against Employer, seeking damages…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0501
Justia Opinion Summary: Tara and Gregory were granted a divorce on October 18, 2010 after a jury trial. On December 22, 2010, the trial court signed a second judgment. Tara filed her notice of appeal seventy-five days after the trial court's…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0539
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0539
Justia Opinion Summary: Seller and Buyers entered into a contract for a deed. Buyers made payments to Seller for almost three years. Because Seller did not provide Buyers with all information required by Tex. Prop. Code 5(D), Buyers later told…
Date: August 23, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0907
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents were successors-in-interest to 380 acres of land once owned by Baker, now deceased. Petitioners entered into a lease agreement with Baker that contained an option allowing Petitioners to buy the land if Baker…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0228
Justia Opinion Summary: After an investigation into allegations that Doctor had self-prescribed medications, the Board placed Doctor on probation. A media outlet subsequently aired an investigative broadcast suggesting that Doctor was…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0228
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0778
Justia Opinion Summary: Three retired fire fighters (Respondents) previously employed by the Houston Fire Department (HFD) sued the City of Houston to recover allegedly unauthorized deductions from their termination pay upon retirement.…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0778
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0778
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0796
Justia Opinion Summary: When Father and Mother divorced, the divorce decree awarded Mother sole physical custody of Child and ordered Father to pay monthly child support. Years later, Mother and Father agreed Father's support obligation would…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0451
Justia Opinion Summary: The family of a nursing home patient filed this action against the nursing home for, inter alia, medical negligence, negligence per se, breach of contract, and retaliation. Plaintiffs asserted the retaliation claim under…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0627
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed this action against Defendants for negligence based on an undertaking theory and for premises liability after he suffered personal injuries at a party at Defendants' residence. The trial court rendered…
Date: June 28, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0718
Justia Opinion Summary: The State seized thirty-seven gaming machines called "eight-liners" after the sheriff's department executed a warrant to search a game room owned by Sammy Barnes. The warrant was obtained after an investigation, which…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0121
Justia Opinion Summary: A 2003 amendment to the Texas Constitution allowed the Legislature to delegate to a state agency the power to interpret certain provisions of the Constitution governing home equity lending. The state agency quickly…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0121
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0494
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owed the surface estate of a forty-acre tract. Defendant, the lessee of the tract's severed mineral estate, constructed a well site on Plaintiff's tract without Plaintiff's approval. Plaintiff filed suit…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0198
Justia Opinion Summary: This suit was filed as a putative class action on behalf of Texas royalty owners alleging that Phillips Petroleum Company underpaid oil and gas royalties. The trial court certified three subclasses of royalty owners. The…
Date: June 21, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0357
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, as next friends of their daughter (Daughter) sued Hospital for injuries sustained by Daughter following her premature birth. One hundred and sixteen days after filing their original petition, Plaintiffs…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0358
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a professor at the University of Houston, sued the University under the Texas Whistleblower Act. Plaintiff alleged that the University retaliated against him for reporting that his supervisor violated state…
Date: June 14, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0744
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother was seen punching and dragging her four-year-old daughter (Daughter) by her ponytail down the street. Mother's eight-month-old son (Son) was not present during the incident. The police arrested Mother, who later…
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0283
Justia Opinion Summary: A government contractor (HCSC) contracted with the federal government to administer two health insurance programs. HCSC incurred expenses while performing the contracts that were reimbursed by the government. After the…
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0933
Justia Opinion Summary: A staffing services company (Company) furnished workers for the City, including Respondent. During the course of his employment, Employee lost an arm working on a garbage truck driven by an employee of the City.…
Date: June 7, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0257
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents filed this health care liability action against Petitioner. The trial court awarded Respondents $9 million in actual damages and $3 million in punitive damages. The court of appeals reversed the punitive…
Date: May 24, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0032
Justia Opinion Summary: Juvenile was charged with attempted capital murder, aggravated assault on a public servant, and deadly conduct. The jury adjudicated Juvenile of aggravated assault and deadly conduct, assessing determinate sentences for…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0767
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband sued Wife for divorce and custody of their children. Wife hired Law Firm to represent her in the proceedings. After the jury verdict, Law Firm sued both Wife and Husband for its fees. After a hearing, Husband and…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0772
Justia Opinion Summary: In a letter sent to colleagues and others, Defendant, a physician, accused a fellow physician, Plaintiff, of lacking veracity and speaking in half truths. The trial court granted a directed verdict that the letter was…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0830
Justia Opinion Summary: In an earlier suit, fourteen Texas hospitals filed a declaratory relief action against the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and its Executive Commissioner (collectively HHSC), challenging a cutoff date used by…
Date: May 17, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0903
Justia Opinion Summary: Law Firm sued Client for breach of contract, alleging that Client failed to pay its legal fees. A jury found that Client breached the agreement and awarded Law Firm damages, $150,000 as reasonable attorney's fees, and…
Date: May 3, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0708
Justia Opinion Summary: The beneficiary of an inter vivos trust sued the trustee for misappropriation of trust assets and failing to provide an accounting to the trust's beneficiaries. The trustee moved to compel arbitration, relying an…
Date: April 19, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0483
Justia Opinion Summary: Several hospitals (Hospitals) sued Aetna, Inc. and Aetna Health, Inc. (collectively Aetna) for allegedly violating the Prompt Pay Statute. Aetna provided a Medicare plan (Plan) through an HMO called NYLCare. It delegated…
Date: April 19, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0976
Justia Opinion Summary: Two years after their child was born, Mother obtained a default judgment establishing Father's paternity and ordering child support to be paid until the child reached the age of eighteen. Father made child-support…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0666
Justia Opinion Summary: Firefighter Jamie Rodriguez was called into a meeting with Fire Chief Larry Hodge for an interview of Rodriguez regarding a personnel complaint Hodge had filed against him. Rodriguez requested to have a representative…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0666
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 10-1020
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved an inverse-condemnation dispute over ten acres. At issue was who had title to the parcel: the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the City of Edinburg (City), or API Pipe Supply and Paisano…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 10-1020
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0473
Justia Opinion Summary: The Texas legislature enacted two distinct "e911 fee" statutes to help fund the State's 911 emergency networks. The first statute, enacted in 1997, imposed on wireless subscribers a monthly emergency service fee,…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0630
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued the hospital (Hospital) where she gave birth to a newborn and the two doctors who assisted in delivery, alleging that Hospital was liable for injuries to the newborn because of its own direct negligence as…
Date: April 5, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0047
Justia Opinion Summary: The Medlens' dog Avery escaped the family's backyard and was picked up by animal control. Before the Medlens could retrieve Avery, shelter worker Carla Strickland mistakenly placed Avery on the euthanasia list, and Avery…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0311
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff hired Defendant to repair foundation problems on her home. The foundation repair contract specified that Defendant would perform the foundation repair in a good and workmanlike manner and adjust the foundation…
Date: March 29, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0834
Justia Opinion Summary: El Dorado Land Company sold property to the City of McKinney for use as a park. El Dorado's special warranty deed provided that the conveyance was subject to the restriction that the community only be used for that…
Date: March 15, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0836
Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, the trial court ordered the termination of Mother's parental rights to her two children. Before the trial court signed the termination order, Mother's trial counsel filed a "motion for a new trial or, in…
Date: March 8, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0104
Justia Opinion Summary: Landowner purchased property for the purpose of developing the land, obtained permits, and filled a portion of the property to the 100-year flood level. The municipality subsequently constructed a facility partly on the…
Date: March 8, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0255
Justia Opinion Summary: Father was ordered to pay child support each month to Mother. Father failed to make payments for several months, resulting in an arrearage of thousands of dollars. The Tarrant County Domestic Relations Office filed a…
Date: March 8, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0261
Justia Opinion Summary: Roark Amusement & Vending owned and leased coin-operated amusement crane machines found in supermarkets, restaurants, and shopping malls. Roark sought a refund of the sales taxes it paid on the plush toys it purchased to…
Date: February 22, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0582
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether an employee's report to a supervisor about an employer's or co-worker's "violation of law" is a report to an "appropriate law enforcement authority" under the Texas Whistleblower Act…
Date: February 22, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0469
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued University, her employer, for a violation of the Texas Whistleblower Act, claiming that her supervisor fired her for reporting to University that the supervisor's daughter had received in-state tuition in…
Date: February 22, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0548
Justia Opinion Summary: A small group of landowners sought to certify a class composed of all owners of any real property interests in a twelve-mile stretch of land located adjacent to the Canadian River to litigate alleged takings claims…
Date: February 15, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0270
Justia Opinion Summary: Southern Crushed Concrete (SCC) filed a municipal permit application with the City of Houston to move a concrete-crushing facility to a new location. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (Commission) had…
Date: February 15, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0517
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff alleged that while she was a patient at a hospital, a hospital nurse, who was temporarily placed with the hospital by a staffing service, assaulted her. Plaintiff sued under the Texas Medical Liability Act,…
Date: February 1, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0511
Justia Opinion Summary: Doctor examined Patient to determine whether she met the criteria for involuntary hospitalization for psychiatric care. Doctor decided she did not and released her. Three days later Patient committed suicide. Patient's…
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: 10-0142
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0597
Justia Opinion Summary: Shipper engaged Common Carrier to transport computer equipment belonging to Company. Company claimed the shipment was damaged on arrival, and Common Carrier refused to pay the amount that Company claimed Common Carrier…
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0642
Justia Opinion Summary: The State brought an action for forfeiture of a vehicle and $90,235 found in it following a traffic stop, alleging that the property was contraband. The driver of the vehicle (Driver) answered the suit, asserting that he…
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0818
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stemmed from a personal injury settlement between Plaintiff, a minor, and Ford Motor Company. Acting on his own initiative, the pretrial judge appointed an attorney (Attorney) to represent Plaintiff's…
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: 11-0920
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent sued Petitioner for providing deficient geotechnical engineering services. Respondent attached to its petition an affidavit it believed complied with Tex Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 150.002, which required that…
Date: January 25, 2013
Docket Number: 12-0142
Justia Opinion Summary: Richmont Holdings purchased the assets of Superior Recharge Systems. The terms of the sales were set out in a purchase agreement that included a provision for binding arbitration of any dispute relating to the agreement.…
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