OPINION ON REHEARING Opinion by Justice Whitehill . We deny appellees' motion for rehearing. On the Court's own motion, we withdraw our opinion dated December 31, 2014, and vacate the judgment of that date. This is now the Court's opinion. Appellees' daughter Daniella was born prematurely. Her treating physicians included appellants Enrique N. Ponte Jr., M.D., and Jorge Fabio Llamas-Soforo, M.D. Despite the doctors' efforts, Daniella eventually went blind in her right eye and lost most...
OPINION Martha Hill Jamison , Justice . Appellants Sarita Garg, Smith & Garg, LLC, and Garg & Associates, PC (the Garg Parties) challenge the trial court's interlocutory order denying their motion to compel arbitration. After the Garg Parties filed their notice of appeal, we ordered the parties to address whether we have jurisdiction over this appeal of the trial court's interlocutory order. In four issues, the Garg Parties contend that (1) we have jurisdiction over the appeal; (2) all of...
OPINION Opinion by: Luz Elena D. Chapa , Justice . West 17th Resources, LLC, Thomas Mika, and Pamela Mika Wolf appeal the trial court's summary judgment in favor of Lucian and Carleen Pawelek. In seventeen issues, Appellants argue the Paweleks failed to establish superior title to an undivided 1/10 interest in real property that Appellants claim as theirs in a suit for trespass to try title. We affirm the trial court's judgment. BACKGROUND The subject property, a 290.69-acre tract in...
OPINION Opinion by Justice O'Neill . This accelerated interlocutory appeal arises from Casey Sutterfield's action for employment discrimination against his former employer Tervita LLC. Tervita moved to dismiss the action pursuant to the Texas Citizens Participation Act ("TCPA"), which provides for dismissal of actions involving the exercise of certain constitutional rights. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. 27.001-27.011 (West 2015). The trial court denied Tervita's motion. In two...
OPINION Bob Pemberton , Justice . This appeal can be considered a sequel of sorts to this Court's recent Bonser-Lain decision, 2 in which we held in part that the remedies provided by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) 3 for challenging agency actions in court do not extend to authorizing suits to challenge an agency's refusal to promulgate rules. 4 Here we consider whether, in an instance when an agency has denied a petition requesting it to promulgate rules — a decision that...
OPINION Opinion by: Sandee Bryan Marion , Chief Justice . In the underlying lawsuit, appellee, Longview Energy Company ("Longview"), sued two of its directors and others for, among other claims, breach of fiduciary duty by taking a corporate opportunity that belonged to Longview. Following a jury trial, several liability questions were submitted to the jury. The two liability questions addressed in this opinion asked whether either of the directors (1) failed to comply with his fiduciary...
OPINION Scott K. Field , Justice . A jury found appellant Robert Francis Ritz guilty of continuous trafficking of persons and assessed punishment at life in prison. See Tex. Penal Code 20A.03. In four points of error, Ritz contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred by incorrectly instructing the jury that Ritz would not be eligible for parole. We will affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction. BACKGROUND 1 Ritz met K....
OPINION Opinion by Justice Burgess . Erica Lynn Fuller was convicted by a jury of theft of property having a value of $1,500.00 or more but less than $20,000.00 from Thomas Hughes. See Act of May 29, 2011, 82d Leg., R.S., ch. 1234, 21, sec. 31.03(e)(4)(A), 2011 Tex. Gen. Laws 3302, 3310-11 (amended 2015) (current version at TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. 31.03(e)(4)(A)) (West Supp.2015)). On Fuller's motion, the trial court entered a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, finding Fuller not...
OPINION Bob Pemberton , Justice . The pivotal issue in this appeal — one of first impression for this Court — is whether personal-injury claims asserted against the manufacturer of a medical device are "health care liability claims" within the meaning of the Texas Medical Liability Act (TMLA). At least on this record, we hold they are not. BACKGROUND The underlying dispute arises from surgery performed on appellee Michael Wood by James Hansen, M.D., to treat a herniated disc in Wood's...
OPINION Jane Bland , Justice . In this suit against individual directors of a Texas nonprofit corporation, we determine whether members of the organization possess derivative standing to sue on behalf of the corporation when neither the articles of incorporation nor the bylaws authorize it. Members of the Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinity (VNCH) sued individual members of VNCH's board of directors, alleging breach of their fiduciary duties to VNCH. In the trial court, the...
OPINION Opinion by Justice Garza . This case involves personal injuries allegedly caused by a contract working dog ("CWD") on a United States military base in Afghanistan. Appellant LaTasha Freeman argues that the trial court erred in granting a plea to the jurisdiction dismissing her suit against appellees, American K-9 Detection Services, LLC ("AMK9") and Hill Country Dog Center, LLC ("HCDC"). We reverse and remand. 1 I. BACKGROUND Freeman was employed as an administrative clerk by...
MEMORANDUM OPINION Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam . 1 Relator, State Farm Lloyds ("State Farm"), filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the above cause through which it contends that the MDL pretrial court abused its discretion by ordering the production of discovery in native or near-native formats rather than "reasonably usable" formats. 2 By order previously issued in this cause, this Court granted temporary relief and requested that the real parties in interest, the MDL...
MEMORANDUM OPINION Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam 1 Relator, State Farm Lloyds ("State Farm"), filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the above cause through which it contends that the trial court abused its discretion by ordering the production of discovery in native or near-native formats rather than "reasonably usable" formats. 2 Because State Farm failed to meet its burden under the discovery rules to support its objection that it could not produce the discovery through reasonable...
OPINION SUE WALKER , JUSTICE . I. INTRODUCTION In this original proceeding, Relators Amanda Hayward and TWCS Operations Pty Ltd. seek a writ of mandamus compelling Respondent to vacate a September 15, 2015 order imposing a constructive trust that requires them to deposit $10 million in U.S. dollars into the registry of the court. 1 Because Real Party in Interest Jennifer Pedroza failed to prove the third element necessary to entitle her to establishment of a constructive trust — a res of...
MEMORANDUM OPINION HOLLIS HORTON , Justice . We issued our original memorandum opinion in this cause on August 27, 2015, and afterwards, the appellant and the appellees filed motions for rehearing. The court denies the motions for rehearing; however, the panel withdraws its opinion and judgment and issues this opinion and judgment in their stead. In this oil and gas case, filed by several stakeholders with interests in two pooled gas units, we are asked to decide two principal issues....
OPINION JOHN M. BAILEY , JUSTICE . This is an original mandamus/prohibition proceeding filed by Relator, the State of Texas, acting by and through the District Attorney for the 106th Judicial District, Michael Munk. Relator contends that Respondent, the Honorable Carter T. Schildknecht, Judge of the 106th District Court of Dawson County, Texas, entered a void order on July 22, 2015, requiring Relator to provide discovery pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 39.14(a). TEX....
OPINION Opinion by: Patricia O. Alvarez , Justice . On August 19, 2015, this court issued an opinion and judgment in this appeal. Acting sua sponte, we withdraw our opinion and judgment of August 19, 2015, and substitute this opinion and judgment to clarify portions of the opinion. See TEX. R. APP. P. 19.1. This is a subsurface trespass case between lessees of two adjacent mineral estates. Lightning Oil Company sued Anadarko E & P Onshore LLC to prevent Anadarko from siting a well on...
OPINION Opinion by Justice Rodriguez . Appellant Dos Republicas Coal Partnership (Dos Republicas) challenges the order of the 293rd District Court of Maverick County denying its petition for writ of mandamus to compel appellees David Saucedo, as Floodplain Administrator and County Judge of the Maverick County Commissioners Court, and the Maverick County Commissioners Court to grant its floodplain development permit application. 1 By three issues, which we address out of order, Dos...
OPINION Laura Carter Higley , Justice . Following an arbitration hearing and award, Stage Stores, Inc. filed an application to vacate the arbitration award. Jon Gunnerson filed a response and an application to confirm the arbitration award. Gunnerson's application also sought the award of attorneys' fees. The trial court denied Stage's application to vacate the arbitration award, denied Gunnerson's request for attorneys' fees, and granted the application to confirm the arbitration award....
OPINION MIKE WILLSON , JUSTICE . Joyce Janette Riddle 1 appeals the order of the trial court in which the trial court granted the City of Abilene's plea to the jurisdiction on her premises defect claim against the City. Riddle argues, in her sole issue, that the trial court erred when it granted the plea to the jurisdiction because she raised a question of material fact on the City's "actual knowledge" of the dangerous condition that caused her injuries. We affirm. I. Introduction and...
