Introduction. In Chambers County v. Pelco Construction Co., the general contractor unilaterally terminated its contract after the project owner stopped work for 40 days. No. 01-18-00832-CV, 2020 WL 7776078, at *1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 31, 2020, no pet. h.). The general contractor made payment demands upon the owner for work performed and the owner refused to pay. The jury found in favor of the contractor on its breach of contract claim. On appeal,…

Introduction. In this rear-end 18 wheeler collision case, the trial court entered judgment in favor of injured motorist Patterson for over $30 million against FTS International Services, LLC  and $26 million against FTS employee, Acker. The Appellate Court overturned the judgment because, amongst other reasons, the noneconomic damages awarded were excessive. The Appellate Courted remanded the case for new trial. FTS Int’l Services, LLC v. Patterson, 12-19-00040-CV, 2020 WL 5047913, at *1 (Tex. App.—Tyler Aug.…

Introduction. In this case, Valley Builders Supply, Inc., a manufacturer of concrete blocks, sued its competitor, Innovative Block of South Texas, Ltd,  for defamation and business disparagement. At the conclusion of the trial, Valley Builders chose only to submit questions to the jury for defamation. Based upon the jury’s verdict, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Valley Builders for $1,803,528 in compensatory damages and $937,056 in punitive damages. The parties later entered into…

Introduction. TPI Cloud Hosting, Inc. (“TPI”) and Keller Williams Realty Inc. (“KW”) entered into an arrangement for TPI to develop a mobile app for KW’s real estate agents’ business. The alleged price tag to develop this app was $1.8 million. TPI sent a $600,000 invoice for payment to KW which KW refused to pay on the basis that the invoice lacked sufficient detail. The alleged agreement between the parties was never put into writing. TPI…

Introduction. In this tragic case involving interesting legal issues, a ranch hand was killed when he was trampled by cattle while working for a ranch. The ranch hand’s surviving parents and children sued the ranch for wrongful death and survival claims. The ranch was a nonsubscriber under the Texas Workers Compensation Act. However, the trial court tossed the family’s case on summary judgment under an obscure statute known as the Texas Farm Animal Activity Act.…

Introduction. In this age of global unrest, intellectual property disputes are becoming more prevalent. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has now made it clear that the victim of trademark infringement does not have to show that the infringer acted willfully in order to recover a profits award for the false or misleading use of the victim’s trademark. Romag Fasteners, Inc v. Fossil, Inc., 140 S. Ct. 1492, 206 L. Ed. 2d 672 (2020).…

Zeke lost his battle to cancer and died in 2018. He had no children and was survived by his 2 brothers, George and William. In 2010, Zeke drafted a Will leaving everything to Linda who Zeke had lived with for 30 years. George and William contested the 2010 Will on the grounds that Zeke was unduly influenced by Linda into executing it. Linda filed a no evidence motion for summary judgment that was granted by…