Commercial truck accidents can cause serious damage due to the enormous size of trucks. Many victims experience life-changing consequences and need the help of an experienced litigation attorney to get the compensation they deserve. To do this, attorneys need to identify special evidence and determine who is liable. Assigning liability can be complex, as multiple parties may be found responsible for the accident. Here, we take a look at who is potentially liable for truck accidents. Parties Who Could Be Held Responsible for Truck Accidents Texas is an at-fault state, which means whoever caused ..read more

In May 2022, a Fifth Circuit panel held in Jarkesy v. SEC that the Seventh Amendment’s right to civil jury trial extends to an SEC enforcement action. The full Fifth Circuit later denied en banc review of the matter. Critics of the administrative state celebrated the ruling as an important limit on agency power; others questioned whether “originalism” was fairly applied to an agency and a set of statutes that did not exist in 1792. On June 30 of this year, the Supreme Court granted review of Jarkesy, which will be a fascinating addition to the next term of that court:   The post Mr ..read more

Texas estate planning attorneys often disagree about what is the best option in estate planning. Sometimes it is best to have a will to transfer your assets and pay your debts after death. Sometimes it is best to have an irrevocable trust for numerous reasons. Sometimes Texans do nothing (usually the worst option) leaving it up to state laws regarding payment of debts and transfer of assets. Each factual situation is different, but this article will address who are best candidates for a revocable living trust. What is a Revocable Living Trust? Consider a revocable living trust to be an open bo ..read more

For the last 15 years, our Tilting the Scales article outlining the “Top 10 Texas Fireworks Laws” has been an explosive hit every July 4 and New Year’s. This year, especially with the excessive heat we’re experiencing, you may be wondering if your upcoming weekend fireworks extravaganza will be dampened by a county burn ban?   Probably not. County judges and their commissioners courts are empowered to issue burn bans when faced with droughts, like those of the past several years. Even though it may seem like fireworks would fall under a county’s burn ban, the state burn ban statute does n ..read more

The question in Allstate Fire & Casualty Co. v. Love was whether “the amount of an insurancy policy or the underlying claim determines the amount in controversy to establish diversity jurisdiction ….” The Court addressed, and clarified, earlier Circuit precedent on that generaly topic, and went on to hold that in this case: “where the claim under the policy exceeds the value of the policy limit, courts … should ask whether there is a legal possibility that the insurer could be subject to liability in excess of the policy limit” (a Stowers claim having been made in this dispute). No. 2 ..read more

Can you imagine writing your will on your bedroom wall? How about the fender of your vehicle? According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the shortest will in the world consisted of three words — “All to wife”– written on the bedroom wall of a man who realized his death was imminent.  In 1948, a farmer in Canada trapped under his tractor carved “In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife. Cecil Geo. Harris” into his tractor’s fender. The fender was probated as his will. Each state and country has different rules about what constitutes a valid will. So a will valid in one juri ..read more

Before getting started on the blog for the week, I wanted to let everyone know that the ABA Law Practice Today just published my article entitled AI and Persons with Disabilities: the Good and the Bad. It can be found here.   Last week, we discussed Acheson Hotels brief in the Laufer case. Also last week, DOJ weighed in with their view. Their Amicus brief, here, supports neither side. However, it does say that Laufer loses, but the more extreme arguments put forward by the hotel should be rejected. As usual, the blog entry divided into categories and they are: Laufer loses on standing gro ..read more

In a recent analysis of a sanctions order, the Fifth Circuit provided an instructive example of an argument that withstood a forfeiture objection: “Ticket argues that CEATS forfeited the bad-faith argument by failing to assert it in the district court. While it is true that we tend not to entertain arguments that a party asserts for the first time on appeal, ‘an argument is not [forfeit]ed on appeal if the argument on the issue before the district court was sufficient to permit the district court to rule on it.’ Here, CEATS told the district court that a discovery violation ‘must be committed ..read more

Privacy Plus+ Privacy, Technology and Perspective Texas Data Privacy and Security Act.  Let’s consider the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (“TDPSA”), which has just been signed into law.  A link to the text of the TDPSA follows: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB00004F.pdf#navpanes=0 We’ll offer this summary: Who is required to comply? Section 541.002 of the TDPSA provides that the law will apply to any person (inside or outside of Texas) that: –      conducts business in Texas or produces a product or service consumed by Texas reside ..read more

TicketNetwork, an online ticket marketplace, sued CEATS, a non-practicing IP company, for declarations that Ticket’s business did not violate CEATS’s patents or a related license agreement. CEATS won at trial, and while its claim for attorneys fees was pending, obtained an order allowing it to see a list of Ticket’s website affiliates. That order restricted access to certain designated in-house representatives. CEATS’s CEO, who was not supposed to see the list, then sent Ticket’s CEO a settlement demand–attaching the list. After significant proceedings, the district court awarded (1) a 30-mont ..read more