Dereliction of Duty: Can Local Governments Be Liable for Not Protecting Property from Protestors?

Dereliction of Duty: Can Local Governments Be Liable for Not Protecting Property from Protestors?

November 19, 2020

Eager to spark the socialist revolution, left-wing activists seized Ramsett Park and the surrounding area and declared an independent autonomous community dedicated to social and economic justice. The activists threw up barricades and excluded both the police and the “bourgeoisie” owners of businesses surrounding the park. Fearing a primary challenge, Mayor Gunderson ordered the police to withdraw from the area except for life-or-death situations. As days turned into weeks, the area reverted to a Hobbesian…

Grandma Left the Money to Whom? Legal Options for Undue Influence and Changing of Wills

November 12, 2020

Elderly upset scared business man holding piggy bank trying to protect his savings from being stolen

Ernest “Big Daddy” Bux’s great Auntie Heidi Loper moved to a retirement community when her husband Sam retired years go. A short time later, Sam died. Over the years Heidi’s handyman Don Meetdirts and his wife Ada befriended Heidi. They persuaded her to leave them millions of dollars in cash and other items. Prior Wills would have left Heidi’s property to her family of whom she was very proud – both of the Bux family…

COVID-19 Impacting Halloween? A Scary Thought!

October 28, 2020

Cookie Bux has two elementary age children, Kitten and Jeff who really want to go Trick-or-Treating this Halloween. In fact, Jeff has been wearing his Star Wars Stormtrooper costume around the house since September. Can Kitten and Jeff Trick-or-Treat this year?…

Painting over Property Rights: The Effect of the Visual Artists Rights Act on Real-Estate Development

October 28, 2020

The Lillian Corporation purchases a vacant and dilapidated office building with plans to demolish it and build luxury condos. Only one thing stands in the way: a mural on the side of the building painted years earlier by a well-known local artist, Phillip Semenko. The mural is renowned and become a popular destination for tourists. After learning of the Lillian Corporation’s plans, Semenko threatens to sue to stop the development. Will Semenko succeed or is…

Homeschooling: Too Cool For School?

September 2, 2020

After learning that Buxboro Independent School District would not re-open campuses until September 8th and dismayed that her children Digger (12), Trixie (9) and Hustler (5) would not receive personal instruction, Anna Nicole Pawlenty posted on a Facebook mom group “I’m in Buxboro, and I’m ‘podding up.’ Who’s with me?” . Can just anyone home school their children? What are the implications?…

Stay Shut Down or Be Sued? The Risk to Your Business from COVID-19 Premises-Liability Claims

July 31, 2020

Reeling from months of governmental orders that required all restaurants to close their doors, Chez Quis was elated to re-open and welcome back its diners, even at a reduced capacity. But elation quickly turned to despair when Chez Quis learned that one of its longtime customers, Abe Froman, had sued the restaurant for allegedly contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) while dining there. Has Chez Quis jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire?…

What Does a Furlough Mean to My Employees?

July 14, 2020

When restaurants were ordered to shutter – and before PPP – Ernest Bux’s sister Cookie Bux who owns Beef O’Bux Restaurants was in a bind. Should she lay off or furlough employees who were showing up for work to her empty restaurant chain? What’s the difference between laying off employees and furloughing them? What are her options?…

Can an Email Exchange Modify a Lease?

June 22, 2020

Before the pandemic, Ernest Bux’s niece Chit Bux signed a lease with Iona Mall in an upscale strip shopping center and hired a contractor to build out her dream business – a beauty salon “Cuts & Fluffs.” When Dallas County ordered businesses to shutter last spring, Chit’s “essential business” construction on her salon continued toward meeting the originally scheduled July 1st opening date – perhaps the worst time to open a high-touch, close-quarters beauty salon.…

COVID-19 v. the Constitution: The Conflict Continues

June 3, 2020

united-states-constitution-on-american-flag-picture-id1152320541 (1)

The extraordinary measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to cause constitutional clashes. My last post’s opening hypothetical about members of a congregation being ticketed for attending church services has now become a reality, and the Supreme Court has given its first hint on how it would strike the balance between fundamental constitutional rights and the government’s interest in preserving public health.…

Tiger King 2.0: Is a Texas Roadside Zoo Permissible?