Introduction. The case of  Rhormoos Venture v. UTSW DVA Healthcare, LLP, addressed the issue of whether a tenant is legally permitted to terminate a commercial lease based upon the landlord’s material breach of the lease. 16-0006, 2019 WL 1873428 (Tex. Apr. 26, 2019). The court reviewed its prior decisions on this issue and found that the material breach of a commercial lease is in fact a legal basis for the tenant to terminate the lease.  The court also…

Introduction. The case of Zermeno v. Garcia is about a business divorce gone bad, leading to costly and protracted litigation between family members over the operation of a family-owned concrete business. 14-17-00843-CV, 2019 WL 2063090 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] May 9, 2019, no pet. h.). After the initial lawsuit was filed, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. Unfortunately, as part of the settlement, the parties attempted to continue to work together in some form…

Introduction. Preston Marshall, Appellant V. Ribosome L.P, is an interesting trust and limited partnership dispute involving the descendants of Texas oilman J. Howard Marshall II. 01-18-00108-CV, 2019 WL 2041062 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] May 9, 2019, no pet. h.). The trial court granted a summary judgment against Preston Marshall on his claims against Ribosome for aiding and abetting breach of trustee’s fiduciary duty; breach of oral contract to distribute trust proceeds directly to Preston; promissory…

Introduction. The case of Jang Won Cho v. Kun Sik Kim, involves a dispute between 3 investors who invested in a retail strip shopping mall venture in Houston, Texas.  No. 14-16-00962-CV, 2019 WL 1442412 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Apr. 2, 2019, no pet. h.). The 3 investors formed a corporation in which they became shareholders and the corporation purchased the land for the shopping mall. A strip center was built and became part of the property owned and…

Introduction. The San Antonio Court of Appeals has held that a property owner’s personal injury premises defect claim sounded in negligence rather than premises liability, even though the injuries were not caused by a contemporaneous activity of the contractor allegedly at fault. Arredondo v. Techserv Consulting & Training, Ltd., 567 S.W.3d 383 Tex. App.—San Antonio 2018, pet. filed). Background. In this case, an electric company entered into a contract with a utility contractor for the…

Lawsuits involving alleged violations by former employees of non-competition agreements are often hotly contested and involve injunctive relief. These cases can be challenging for the employer to obtain relief because covenants not to compete are governed by statutory law requiring these restrictive covenants to be reasonable as to time, geographical area, and scope of activity to be restrained. Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 15.50 (West). There is a tendency for employers to draft…

“It is cheaper to kill a mare than it is to cripple her.”  This was considered the law in Texas until the recent Texas Supreme Court decision of J & D Towing, LLC v. Am. Alternative Ins. Corp., 478 S.W.3d 649, 652 (Tex. 2016) involving the question of first impression before the Texas Supreme Court of whether the owner of personal property totally destroyed by another’s negligence is entitled to recover loss of use damages in addition…