Justia Texas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the dismissal of the underlying cause of action and rendering judgment dismissing the claim, holding that the cause of action was a health care liability claim because it met the applicable factors articulated in Ross v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, 462 S.W.3d 496 (Tex. 2015).Plaintiff sued Defendant for negligence, negligent hiring, and premises liability. Defendant moved to dismiss the case, alleging that it was a health care provider under the Texas Medical Liability Act (Act), Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 74.001-74.507 and that Plaintiff failed timely to serve an expert report. Plaintiff amended her petition so that only the premises liability claim remained. The trial court dismissed the claim. An en banc court of appeals reversed, concluding that no expert report was needed because Plaintiff's claim was not a health care liability claim. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Plaintiff's cause of action constituted a health care liability claim under Ross, and therefore, the TMLA's expert-report requirement applied. View "Collin Creek Assisted Living Center, Inc. v. Faber" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for a writ of mandamus in this original proceeding involving more than 2,000 cases brought by more than 7,000 plaintiffs represented by more than fifty law firms consolidated in an multidistrict litigation (MDL) court, holding that Plaintiffs did not sufficiently plead their claims.This proceeding arose from explosions occurring in the TPC petrochemical processing plant in Port Neches, resulting in the release of toxic chemicals, extensive personal injury, and property damages. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether Plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded claims that investors in the plant owner were directly liable for damages. The Supreme Court denied mandamus relief, holding that Plaintiffs' petition made no factual allegations to show a cause of action with a basis in law against the investors for TPC's conduct. View "In re First Reserve Management, L.P." on Justia Law

In these two consolidated cases involving claims brought against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) the Supreme Court answered, among other questions, that ERCOT is a governmental unit as defined in the Texas Tort Claims Act and is thereby entitled to pursue an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction.CPS Energy sued ERCOT and several of its officers for, inter alia, breach of contract. The trial court denied ERCOT'S plea to the jurisdiction. Ultimately, the court of appeals held that ERCOT was a governmental unit entitled to take an interlocutory appeal. In the second case, Panda sued ERCOT for, inter alia, fraud. The trial court denied ERCOT's pleas to the jurisdiction. The court of appeals ultimately held that ERCOT was not entitled to sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court affirmed in the first case and reversed in the other, holding (1) ERCOT was entitled to pursue an interlocutory appeal from the denial of a plea to the jurisdiction; (2) the Public Utility Commission of Texas has exclusive jurisdiction over the parties' claims against ERCOT; and (3) ERCOT was entitled to sovereign immunity. View "CPS Energy v. Electric Reliability Council of Texas" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court in this declaratory judgment suit, holding that a corporate resolution did not authorize the law firm to redeem a departing shareholder's shares on terms unilaterally set by the firm's founders.Under Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code 21.801 , a professional corporation may redeem corporate shares, which are personal property, if one of three conditions is met. After the firm in this case terminated a shareholder's employment the founders purported to redeem his shares at no cost. The trial court concluded that a resolution generally authorizing the founders to take affirmative action on behalf of the firm unambiguously encompassed redemption. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the resolution did not authorize redemption of the departing shareholder's shares on terms dictated by the founders. View "Skeels v. Suder" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the trial court granting no-evidence summary-judgment motions in this action alleging that Defendants negligently collected, transported, tested, and reported the results of Plaintiff's hair sample used for a drug and alcohol screening, holding that third-party testing entities hired by an employer do not owe a common-law negligence duty to their clients' employees.Plaintiff, a pipefitter, was directed to report to the Houston Area Safety Council to provide hair and urine samples for drug and alcohol screenings. The Safety Council collected the samples and delivered them to Defendant for laboratory testing. Defendant reported that Plaintiff's hair sample tested positive for cocaine and a cocaine metabolite. Subsequent samples tested positive, but Defendant was required to find work with a different employer. Plaintiff later brought this action. The trial court granted summary judgment for Defendant, concluding that Defendant did not owe Plaintiff a legal duty. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court reversed after considering the competing factors and well-established tort principles, holding that Plaintiff failed to establish that Defendant owed him a legal duty under the circumstances of this case. View "Houston Area Safety Council, Inc. v. Mendez" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that a parent whose parental rights have been terminated cannot complain for the first time on appeal that the trial court failed to make the "extraordinary circumstances" and "best interest" findings under Tex. Fam. Code 263.401(b).The statute at issue provides that a court may retain a parental rights termination suit if it finds that extraordinary circumstances necessitate the child remaining in the temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services and that continuing that conservatorship is in the child's best interest. The court in this case made only one of the required findings when it extended the dismissal deadline. Mother appealed a subsequent judgment terminating her parental rights. The court of appeals vacated that judgment and dismissed the termination suit, concluding that the trial court lost jurisdiction by failing to make the additional required finding by the dismissal deadline. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the findings requirement is not jurisdictional, and therefore, the court of appeals erred in dismissing the action. View "In re Interest of J.S." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals in this personal injury case, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by including in the jury charge an instruction on res ipsa loquitur.Plaintiff sued Elegante and its elevator-maintenance contractor, Schindler, after he was allegedly injured in an elevator malfunction. The trial court granted summary judgment for Elegante, and Plaintiff's claims against Schindler proceeded to trial. The jury found that Schindler's negligence proximately caused the elevator incident and awarded Plaintiff damages. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the portion of the court of appeals' judgment relating to sanctions imposed on Schindler and otherwise reversed, holding that the trial court erred by submitting a res ipsa instruction to the jury and that the error was not harmless. View "Schindler Elevator Corp. v. Ceasar" on Justia Law

In this case alleging defective design and development of a commercial property the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals concluding that the running of limitations was equitably tolled while the suit was on appeal, holding that there was no tolling.The suit in this breach of contract and negligence action was eventually dismissed for failure to file a certificate of merit. Plaintiff nonsuited its claims and refiled. The court of appeals held that the certificate of merit was deficient as to the breach of contract claim but complied with the statute with respect to the negligence claim. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the certificate of merit failed to satisfy Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 150.002 as to Plaintiff's negligence claim. The Supreme Court remanded the case for a determination of whether the dismissal should be with or without prejudice. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a new suit against Defendant that included a new certificate of merit. The trial court granted summary judgment for Defendant on the grounds that Plaintiff's claims were time-barred. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that Plaintiff was entitled to equitable tolling. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that there was no tolling during the appeal of the earlier-filed lawsuit. View "Levinson Alcoser Associates, LP v. El Pistolon II, Ltd." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court conditionally granted mandamus relief in this negligence and premises liability action, holding that the district court's decision to grant a new trial after a three-week trial was an abuse of discretion.Irma Villegas, an employee of Rudolph Mazda, was struck by a vehicle driven by another employee after several employees drank beer on site. Plaintiff, Villegas's daughter, sued Defendants alleging negligence, failure to train, and premises liability. The jury awarded Plaintiffs over $4 million in damages. Plaintiff filed motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and, on grounds of mistrial, for a new trial. The district court granted the motion, giving four reasons for its decision. Rudolph petitioned the court of appeals for a writ of mandamus, which the court denied. The Supreme Court conditionally granted the writ, holding that, individually or collectively, none of the errors identified by the district court presented a proper basis for a new trial. View "In re Rudolph Automotive, LLC" on Justia Law

In this wrongful death action, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court entering judgment on the jury's verdict awarding more than $15 million to Plaintiffs in noneconomic damages, holding that the award in this case was excessive.Sarah Gregory was driving an eighteen wheeler that jackknifed across lanes of traffic and caused four deaths, including Bhupinder Deol. Deol's family brought a wrongful death action against Gregory and her employer. The jury awarded approximately $16.8 million to Deol's family, and noneconomic damages accounted for more than $15 million of the total. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a new trial, holding (1) nothing in the record or in Plaintiffs' arguments demonstrated a rational connection between the injuries suffered and the amount awarded; and (2) the trial court erred in denying Defendants' request to designate another truck company as a responsible third party. View "Gregory v. Chohan" on Justia Law