Editor’s Note: The monthly jury trial verdicts update is first published through Bar Code and the Austin Bar app. Download the app today on either the App Store or the Google Play Store. CIVIL Fortunate Payne and Josselyn Martinez v. Cynthia Owens Cause No: D-1-GN-22-002136 Judge: Daniella Deseta Lyttle, 261st Civil District Court Dates: Aug. 5 – 7, 2024 Attorneys:Plaintiffs:

The following is a summary of selected criminal opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals from February 2024.  The summary is an overview; please review the entire opinions.  The subsequent history is current as of Sept. 5, 2024. LESSER-INCLUDED OFFENSES: Assault on a public servant vs. resisting arrest. Resisting arrest was not a lesser-included offense of assault on a

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals during August 2024. The summaries are an overview; please review the entire opinion. Subsequent histories are current as of Sept. 13, 2024.  TRIAL PROCEDURE: Commercial-speech exemption barred TCPA dismissal.  Carpenter v. Daspit Law Firm, PLLC, No. 03-22-00466-CV (Tex. App.—Austin Aug. 14, 2024, no pet. h.)

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Fifth Circuit in August 2024. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW: Federal agency lacked statutory authority to promulgate decisional rules for insurance rate arbitrators. Tex. Med. Ass’n v. U.S. Dep’t of Health & Hum. Servs., 110 F.4th 762

The Texas Supreme Court recently granted review of an insurance dispute that could have far reaching, broadening impacts on the current state of the law in Texas as it relates to the duty to defend. The ruling from the trial court and the Court of Appeals blurred the distinction between defense and indemnity, as well as the distinction between expenses

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Fifth Circuit in June 2024. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. CONTRACTS: Force majeure provision in natural gas supply contract did not require showing that performance is impossible. MIECO, LLC v. Pioneer Nat. Res. USA, 2024 WL 3418718 (5th Cir.

The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals during June and July 2024. The summaries are overviews; please review the entire opinions. Subsequent histories are current as of Aug. 12, 2024.  FAMILY LAW: Court grants mandamus relief in contempt proceeding. In re Kozinn, No. 03-23-00748-CV (Tex. App.—Austin June 6, 2024, orig. proceeding) (mem.

The following is a summary of a selected criminal opinion issued by the Third Court of Appeals in January 2024. The summary is an overview; please review the entire opinion. Subsequent history is current as of Aug. 6, 2024. TRIAL TESTIMONY — LICENSING STATUS OF WITNESS, RELIABILITY OF WITNESS, RELIABILITY OF OUTCRY WITNESSS, AND “BACKDOOR HEARSAY”: Trial court did not

The following are summaries of selected opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court in June 2024. These summaries are prepared by court staff as a courtesy and are not a substitute for the actual opinions. The summaries are overviews of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW: Commission’s order approving electricity scarcity-pricing was not subject to judicial review.

Editor’s Note: A monthly update on jury trials in Travis County will also be circulated in Bar Code and posted on the Austin Bar app. CIVIL City Of Austin v. Laszlo Herczeg Cause No.: C-1-Cv-20-003717 Judge: Eric Shepperd Dates: June 3-4, 2024 Attorneys: Plaintiff: Phillip B. Arnold, Bickerstaff, Heath, Delgado, Acosta LLP Defendant: Laslo Herczeg, Pro Se Case Summary: Five jurors awarded