This morning, the Third Court of Appeals released an opinion reviewing a Travis County trial court decision to dismiss certain claims against an Oak Hill church for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, based on the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which in turn stems from the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Third Court of Appeals, after presenting a fairly detailed discussion of the doctrine (and, in turn, of the historical relat

Continue reading...

On Friday, the Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion in an accelerated appeal of a trial court’s denial of a special appearance, finding that the appellants in question did not have, in their individual capacities, sufficient contacts with the State of Texas to be subject to a Travis County District Court’s personal jurisdiction. The case involved a California corporation’s breach of a commercial lease of some Austin office s

Continue reading...

This past Friday, the Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a post-divorce fraud case which sets forth a nice statement of the law on collateral attacks in Texas. In 1993, a Timothy Chambers and his father created a Texas partnership to develop a piece of real estate. They hired attorneys to draft the paperwork, which established that Mr. Chambers’ interest was to be his separate property, a gift from his parents. In 1997, Mr. Chamber

Continue reading...

This morning, the Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a fascinating case, from a procedural perspective. Jeffrey Kendziorski obtained a judgment for fraud from a Comal County justice court against a Robert Marshall. The $2,760.50 judgment was for compensatory damages and court costs, but not for exemplary damages. Mr. Marshall appealed the judgment de novo to the Comal County Court at Law and posted a $5,521.00 surety bond (Rule 571 requi

Continue reading...

This morning, the Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion clearly setting forth the extent to which a division of the state waives sovereign immunity when it sues a private party. In this case, the State of Texas sued a traffic light manufacturer for breach of contract, breach of warranty and quantum meruit. The traffic light company counterclaimed for business disparagement, and the State filed a plea to the jurisdiction with respect to the cou

Continue reading...

This morning, the Third Court of Appeals affirmed a Travis County trial court decision to grant a summary judgment in favor of the Comptroller’s office in a putative class action case which alleged that the Comptroller’s failure to pay interest on property returned to Texans under the Unclaimed Property Act constituted a taking. While the court’s analysis of the Unclaimed Property Act is perhaps not of general interest, the opin

Continue reading...

On Friday, the Third Court of Appeals handed down an opinion on a petition for writ of mandamus holding that a Burnet County judge abused his discretion in failing to compel arbitration of a breach of contract claim brought by a partner and his wife against a partnership. The Court held that, under Federal Arbitration Act analysis, Texas law governs questions of whether a valid arbitration clause exists and whether the claims asserted fall within

Continue reading...

On Wednesday, The Third Court of Appeals issued an opinion overturning a trial court summary judgment and rendering judgment in a case which involved the calculation of royalty fees under an oil and gas lease. Cause No. 03-04-00820-CV, Tana Oil & Gas Corp. v. Cernosek, et al.

Continue reading...

Yesterday, the Third Court of Appeals handed down two memorandum opinions. The first discussed a deferred ajudication of a truancy charge. Cause No. 03-03-00253-CV, Jim Walden v. Rex Baker, Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Hays County Yesterday’s other memorandum opinion affirms a trial court judgment dismissing a declaratory judgment action which sought to invalidate Austin’s new smoking ordinance. The VFW, which operates bingo hall

Continue reading...

The Texas Supreme Court issued two per curiam opinions this morning. The first invoked Rule 47.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and remanded a case back to the 11th Court of Appeals. The Court found that the Court of Appeals’ opinion “failed to identify and expressly consider modification and waiver as distinct issues associated with the relief the parties requested from the arbitrator” and remanded the case for furth

Continue reading...