Justia Texas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

On a cold winter day, Plaintiff, a mail carrier, had just delivered mail to the home of Homeowners when he slipped on the Homeowners' sidewalk and fell, allegedly injuring himself. One of the Homeowners had said “don’t slip” to Plaintiff before he reached the sidewalk. Plaintiff sued the Homeowners, alleging that the Homeowners were aware of ice on the sidewalk but failed to warn Plaintiff of any potential danger. The trial court granted the Homeowners’ motion for summary judgment, concluding that the “don’t slip” statement was adequate as a matter of law to warn Plaintiff of an icy sidewalk. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that a “general instruction not to slip or trip or fall is not conclusive evidence of a warning.” The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals, holding that even if ice on the Homeowners’ sidewalk created an unreasonably dangerous condition, the Homeowners adequately warned Plaintiff of it. Remanded. View "Henkel v. Norman" on Justia Law

A Homeowner contracted with a Builder to build a home on property owned by the Homeowner. The Builder contracted with a Plumber to put in the plumbing at the house. After the home was completed, the Builder and the Homeowner sued the Plumber for damages allegedly caused by plumbing leaks, alleging breach of contract, breach of express warranty, and negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment for the Plumber, reasoning (1) the Homeowner could not recover contract damages because it was not a party to the plumbing subcontract, nor could the Builder recover contract damages because it had not suffered any compensable damage; and (2) the plaintiffs did not have a negligence claim because they did not allege violation of any tort duty independent of the contract. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the court of appeals erred in concluding that the pleadings and summary judgment evidence negated the existence of a negligence claim. View "Chapman Custom Homes, Inc. v. Dallas Plumbing Co." on Justia Law

Timothy Bostic died from mesothelioma, which can be caused by asbestos. Plaintiffs, Bostic’s family members, sued Georgia-Pacific Corporation and thirty-nine other defendants, alleging that Bostic had been exposed to asbestos as a child and teenager while using Georgia-Pacific drywall joint compound. A jury found Georgia-Pacific liable under negligence and marketing defect theories and awarded Plaintiffs $6.8 million in compensatory damages and $4.8 million in punitive damages. The court of appeals held that the causation evidence was legally insufficient and rendered a take-nothing judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the standard of substantial factor causation established in Borg-Warner Corp. v. Flores, an asbestosis case, applies to mesothelioma cases; (2) Plaintiffs were not required to prove that but for Bostic’s exposure to Georgia-Pacific’s asbestos-containing joint compound, Bostic would not have contracted mesothelioma; and (3) the evidence of causation was legally insufficient to sustain the verdict in this case. View "Bostic v. Georgia-Pacific Corp." on Justia Law

Bill Head, doing business as Bill Head Enterprises (Head), hired Petroleum Solutions, Inc. to manufacture and install an underground fuel system at the truck stop Head owned and operated. After a major diesel-fuel leak occurred, Respondents sued Petroleum Solutions for its damages. The trial rendered judgment in favor of Head and in favor of third-party defendant Titeflex, Inc., the alleged manufacturer of a component part incorporated into the fuel system, on Titeflex’s counterclaim against Petroleum Solutions for statutory indemnity. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court (1) reversed the judgment as to Head, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing the sanctions of charging the jury with a spoliation instruction and striking Petroleum Solutions’ statute-of-limitations defense, and the trial court’s abuse of discretion was harmful; and (2) affirmed the judgment as to Titeflex’s indemnity claim, holding that Titeflex was entitled to statutory indemnity from Petroleum Solutions. Remanded for further proceedings between Respondents and Petroleum Solutions. View "Petroleum Solutions, Inc. v. Head" on Justia Law

Joseph Emmite worked as an insulator at Union Carbide Corporation for approximately forty years before he died in 2005. In 2007, the Emmites filed a wrongful death suit against Union Carbide. Union Carbide filed a motion to dismiss based on the Emmites alleged failure to timely serve a physician report that complied with Chapter 90 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The Multi-District Litigation pretrial court denied the motion. The court of appeals affirmed on interlocutory appeal, holding that the report filed by the Emmites did not satisfy the requirements of Chapter 90 but that Chapter 90 was unconstitutionally retroactive as applied to the Emmites’ claims. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and rendered judgment dismissing the Emmites’ suit, holding that a statutorily compliant report was not filed in this case and that Chapter 90, as applied to the Emmites, does not violate the Texas Constitution’s prohibition against retroactive laws. View "Union Carbide Corp. v. Synatzske" on Justia Law

The Porretto family owned several acres of property between the Galveston Seawall and the Gulf of Mexico. Due to the State’s repeated recharacterization of the Porretto’s property as public property, the Porrettos had difficulty selling the property. The Porrettos sued the State, arguing that the State’s claims made it impossible for them to sell their property and therefore amounted to a compensable taking. The trial court held that the State’s actions had resulted in a compensable taking and awarded the Porrettos $5.012 million as damages for the lost market value of the property taken. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the State’s actions did not constitute a taking. The Supreme Court agreed with the court of appeals' conclusion that the State’s conduct did not constitute a taking and affirmed. View "Porretto v. Tex. Gen. Land Office" on Justia Law

A lessee leased a marina from a governmental entity providing that the premises be used only as a "marina, restaurant, gasoline and sundry sales and as a recreational facility.” When the governmental entity terminated the lease the business sued for breach of contract. The government entity filed a plea to the jurisdiction asserting governmental immunity. At issue in this case was whether Chapter 271 of the Texas Local Government Code waived the governmental entity’s immunity from suit. The trial court concluded that it did, and the court of appeals agreed. The Supreme Court disagreed with the lower courts and dismissed the lessee’s claims for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the parties’ lease agreement did not constitute a written contract stating the essential terms of an agreement for providing goods or services to a local government entity, and therefore, Chapter 271 did not waive the governmental entity’s immunity from suit. View "Lubbock County Water Control & Improvement Dist. v. Church & Akin, LLC" on Justia Law

At issue in this case was the Texas-resident exception to the forum non conveniens statute, which allows “plaintiffs” who are legal residents of Texas to bring a case in a Texas forum even if forum non conveniens would otherwise favor dismissal. Here an estate was sued in Texas regarding a Mexican decedent’s alleged responsibility for a car accident that occurred in Mexico. The estate in turn filed a third-party claim against Ford Motor Company. Wrongful-death beneficiaries, three of whom were legal residents of Texas, intervened in the lawsuit and also filed claims against Ford. Ford moved to dismiss under forum non conveniens, and the trial court denied the motion. Ford then moved for mandamus relief. The court of appeals denied relief, reasoning that, because at least one of the beneficiaries was a legal resident of Texas, the wrongful-death beneficiaries were “plaintiffs” that could take advantage of the Texas-resident exception to forum non conveniens. The Supreme Court denied mandamus relief, holding that the wrongful-death beneficiaries are distinct plaintiffs that can rely on the Texas-resident exception. View "In re Ford Motor Co." on Justia Law

At issue in this case was whether the statutory requirement that a plaintiff in any action for damages arising out of the provision of professional services by a licensed or registered professional file a supporting expert affidavit with the complaint applies to a defendant or third-party defendant who files a third-party claim or cross-claim against a licensed or registered professional. In the underlying complaint, the court of appeals concluded that chapter 150 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code does not require third-party plaintiffs or cross-claimants to file a certificate of merit. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the certificate-of-merit requirement in chapter 150 does not apply to a defendant or third-party defendant who asserts claims against a licensed or registered professional because they are not the “plaintiff” in such cases. View "Jaster v. Comet II Constr., Inc." on Justia Law

In this case, the Supreme Court articulated with greater clarity the standards governing whether an act of spoliation has occurred and the limits of a trial court’s discretion to impose certain remedies upon a finding of spoliation. In the underlying slip-and-fall premises-liability case, the defendant-premises owner retained a portion of surveillance video footage of the plaintiff’s fall but allowed additional footage to be automatically erased. The trial court submitted a spoliation instruction to the jury and allowed the jury to decide whether spoliation occurred. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing the severe sanction of a spoliation instruction. Remanded for a new trial. View "Brookshire Bros., Ltd. v. Aldridge" on Justia Law