Texas Workers Compensation claimants took a big hit Friday when the Texas Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Timothy J. Ruttiger. The Court held that Workers Comp claimants cannot seek damages for bad faith denials of claims outside the administrative Workers Comp regulatory framework. Justice Willett's concurring opinion writes: "The continued existence of bad-faith claims will subvert the Legislature's meticulous soup-to-nuts system, one augmented by an immense regulatory and adjudicatory framework that, taken together, now regulates virtually … [Read more...]
Deion and Pilar Sanders’ Divorce Illustrates the High Price of Animosity and the Great Deal we get through Settlement
May 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Several sources have reported that Deion Sanders has been ordered to pay over $10,500 in child support and $3,500 mortgage payments. The shocking part is that he’s been ordered to pay over a quarter million in attorney fees incurred just since April 30, 2012. In three weeks of attorney fees these parties blew what most of my clients will not earn in a year. There has, perhaps, never been a clearer example of the high price of contempt and animosity in a family law case. If you do the math, Deion could pay support for his children for 18 months at the rate his wife’s attorneys are … [Read more...]
Injured by a Doctor? You’ll likely deal with the secretive Medical Board instead of open court
May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Fox 4 in Dallas did a great story on the Texas Medical Board and their contribution to physician discipline since tort reform in 2003. According to the report serious disciplinary actions are down and the time taken to conduct investigations has risen. Further, Doctor confidentiality and secrecy is maintained until a final disciplinary action is completed, leaving patients unaware of allegations of malpractice by doctors. Check the Fox 4 page for a video. Some of the images are graphic and the stories are truly tragic. Its a shame our state has fallen so far in protecting patient … [Read more...]
Texas Appellate Courts are More Likely to Reverse Plaintiff’s Judgments
May 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Dallas Morning News reports that a soon-to-be-released study shows Texas Appellate Courts reverse judgments for plaintiffs with alarming regularity, and at a dramatically higher rate than judgments for defendants: “The study, conducted by two appellate lawyers at Haynes and Boone, found the Texas appellate judges have an overall reversal rate of 49 percent when they review cases that the plaintiff won in the trial court and the defendant appealed. But those same judges reversed only 25 percent of the cases in which the defendant prevailed at trial and the plaintiff appealed. The Texas … [Read more...]
Honda Recalls Weed Trimmers Due to Laceration Hazard
March 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Unsafe products can cause serious injuries at the most unexpected times. Household names we all come to know and trust are no exception to oversites due to engineering, manufacturing or material shortcomings that require diligent testing and monitoring. Honda has acted to recall certain gas powered weed and lawn trimmers within a designated manufacturing span denoted by listed serial numbers. Awareness of such measures is one paramount to the safety of all consumers. Springer Lyle feels the information in this article should be made known so consumers who rely on Honda's reputation can … [Read more...]
The New “Loser Pays”
February 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
A lot of my friends have asked me about the new “loser pays” law and how I expect it to affect litigation in Texas. For years, Texas and most other states followed the so-called, “American Rule” whereby litigants pay their own attorneys’ fees. There were exceptions, such as certain statutory provisions that allowed recovery of attorneys fees in breach of contract, declaratory judgments, and other types of lawsuits. The new law is a departure from our historical approach, and represents a Texas version of the “English Rule,” allowing the prevailing party to recoup … [Read more...]
New Rules Require Lawyers to be Nice
September 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
by Jeff Springer, SpringerLyle ••• Texas adopted the “Texas Lawyers’ Creed” several years ago in response to the rising incivility among opposing trial lawyers. Now other states are apparently following suit. The Florida Supreme Court issued an order (PDF) on Monday adopting a civility pledge as part of the oath, the Legal Profession Blog reports. The new language reads: “To opposing parties and their counsel, I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications.” South Carolina adopted a similar pledge in 2003, the … [Read more...]
Honda Worldwide Recall of Sedans, Minivans, SUVs
August 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment
By Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall of Reuters. Honda Motor Co Ltd plans to recall nearly 2 1/2 million vehicles: small SUVs, cars and minivans worldwide. This includes the popular Accord sedan. Problems relate to software issues that could damage the automatic transmission. The recall includes 1.5 million vehicles in the United States, about 760,000 in China and 135,142 in Canada, the automaker said on Friday. This week, Consumer Reports said it was not recommending the 2012 Honda Civic. This led some industry analysts to ask if that was a symptom of larger problems at the … [Read more...]
Hair Removal Service Not Protected Under Health Care Liability Act
July 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
from Texas Lawyer Bioderm Skin Care LLC v. Sok Tx. App. Dist. 5 Kerry P. Fitzgerald Justice 05-10-00044-CV 06-28-2011 OPINION Before Justices Morris, O'Neill, and FitzGerald Opinion By Justice FitzGerald Appellee Veasna "Sandee" Sok sued Bioderm Skin Care, LLC ("Bioderm") and Quan Nguyen, MD, seeking to recover damages for burns she suffered during a laser hair removal procedure at Bioderm. Bioderm and Nguyen contend Sok's claims are health care liability claims and are subject to Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Accordingly, they moved to … [Read more...]
What’s Fair Is Fair: Rise in FDCPA Cases Offers Opportunities for Lawyers
July 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
From The Texas Lawyer, July 18, 2011 With the economic downturn, the number of consumer credit-related suits filed in U.S. District Courts in Texas has steadily increased over the past five years. In 2005, 81 such cases were filed in Texas, according to PACER, the federal courts' online filing system. But in 2010, that number rose to 390. The trend is on track to continue this year. From Jan. 1 to June 30, 2011, the number of consumer credit-related cases filed in Texas' U.S. District Courts totaled 263, compared to 190 for the same period in 2010, PACER shows. The numbers include … [Read more...]
