“Special appearance” is Texas’ unique name for a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Made on a “sworn motion”, a special appearance must be filed before any other pleading or motion filed by an out-of-state defendant. If specific rules and procedures are not properly followed, unwary defendants may discover they’ve unwittingly waived important […]

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Burn injuries can be catastrophic with severe emotional and psychological impact on both the victims and love ones. Burn injury treatment is extremely painful. When the wounds have healed, scarring can be so severe as to cause loss of mobility and disfigurement can be so extensive that victims withdraw from society and even their closest […]

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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Trinity Industries and overturned a $663 million federal False Claims Act jury verdict from 2014.  As argued by Ethan Shaw at the trial of the case, the appeals court concluded there was no fraud committed on the government by Trinity since the government continuously approved and reimbursed states […]

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is often referred to as an invisible disability, because for many victims there are no obvious outward signs of the effects that they are suffering. Of course, TBI can be a catastrophic injury requiring 24-hour care. But for those who do not suffer physical impairments it can still mean never being able […]

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This is the second of two posts discussing the enforceability of executive non-compete agreements in Texas. In Part I, we discussed the basics of a non-compete agreement as well as the first prong of Texas’s two-part analysis to determine their enforceability. In this second part of the analysis, we will see how Texas courts evaluate […]

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In May 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that taking the type 2 diabetes drug Invokana (canagliflozin) increases your risk of foot and leg amputations. The safety alert was an update to a 2016 alert. Type 2 diabetes itself increases your risk of amputation. Taking medication to manage your blood sugar is one […]

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Hurricane Harvey hit Texas hard—especially in Houston, Beaumont, and Hardin, Jefferson, Orange, Chambers, and Harris counties—and caused upwards of $180 billion in damage. If your business has been forced to shut down partially or entirely because of Hurricane Harvey or other natural disaster, business interruption insurance (also called “BI insurance”) may be able to get you […]

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This is the first of two posts that will discuss the enforceability of executive non-compete agreements in Texas. What are Executive Non-Compete Agreements? Non-compete agreements, also called “restrictive covenants,” are contract provisions through which an employee agrees not to work in a similar trade in competition with an employer, usually in a particular geographical area […]

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In July 2013, the much-anticipated Texas Giant rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Texas became a symbol of tragedy after a 52-year-old rider named Rosa Esparza fell 75 feet to her death from the ride. The accident sparked a national discussion about the potential dangers of rollercoasters, especially for riders with larger bodies that may not […]

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If it hasn’t hit you yet, it’s coming.  More and more business clients enter into Alternative Fee Arrangements (AFA) with their lawyers.  Clients like the idea of the certainty and predictability an AFA provides, and quite frankly, they like the idea that they can pick up the phone to ask you a question without increasing […]

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