Opinion Library
Texas court rulings translated into actionable litigation strategy.
This Week's DigestStrategy Category
946 opinions found
Hallas v. Hallas
COA03
In this divorce appeal, the Third Court of Appeals addressed a trial court's failure to provide mandatory Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law regarding property division and attorney's fees. The appellant, Janice Hallas, had strictly followed procedural rules by filing both an initial request and a notice of past due findings. The appellate court analyzed the "presumed harm" doctrine, noting that missing findings force an appellant to challenge every conceivable basis for a ruling rather than narrowing the issues. Because the trial court’s silence prevented the appellant from properly presenting her case, the court held the error was harmful, abated the appeal, and remanded the case for the entry of findings.
Litigation Takeaway
"Success on appeal often depends on procedural discipline. If a trial court ignores a request for Findings of Fact, you must file a "Notice of Past Due Findings" within the strict 30-day window to preserve your rights. Without these findings, the appellate court will presume the trial judge found every fact necessary to support the original ruling, making it nearly impossible to overturn a discretionary property division."
Brandon Keith Anderson v. The State of Texas
COA12
In this case, a witness provided surprise testimony during a hearing involving prejudicial information that had not been disclosed during discovery. Although the defendant successfully moved the trial court to disregard the testimony, he did not specifically move for a mistrial. On appeal, the Twelfth Court of Appeals analyzed Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1(a) and the 'preservation ladder,' which generally requires a party to object, request an instruction to disregard, and move for a mistrial to preserve error. The court held that because the appellant received the exact relief he requested (disregarding the testimony) and failed to seek a mistrial or obtain an adverse ruling, the complaint was waived.
Litigation Takeaway
"Winning a motion to strike or disregard surprise testimony is a 'trap' if the evidence is truly 'incurable.' In Texas courts, if a witness drops a 'bombshell' that poisons the well, you must move for a mistrial and secure an adverse ruling to preserve the issue for appeal. Merely asking the judge to disregard the statement is considered a 'win' at trial that results in a procedural default on appeal, leaving you with no recourse if the judge is ultimately influenced by the excluded evidence."
P. J. S., Appellant v. K. S. S., Appellee
COA03
In P. J. S. v. K. S. S., a former husband challenged a summary judgment requiring him to pay a 'Guaranteed Amount' shortfall to his ex-wife as outlined in their Partition Agreement Incident to Divorce (PAID). The husband argued that because his payments were 'subject to' and secondary to a bank's priority debt, he was not obligated to pay if business profits were insufficient. The Third Court of Appeals disagreed, analyzing the contract language to find that 'subject to' established an order of distribution (who gets paid first) rather than a condition precedent (whether he has to pay at all). Because the agreement lacked specific conditional wording like 'if and only if,' the court held the husband was personally liable for the shortfall regardless of the business's net profits.
Litigation Takeaway
"In Texas, 'subject to' language in a settlement agreement typically establishes payment priority rather than excusing the debt entirely; if a payor intends to limit their liability to available business profits, the agreement must use express conditional language or explicitly disclaim personal liability for shortfalls."
Richardson v. The State of Texas
COA02
In Richardson v. State, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals reviewed a defendant’s ineffective-assistance claim and challenges to court costs. The appellant argued trial counsel made specific mistakes (e.g., failing to object or pursue certain defensive theories), but the court analyzed counsel’s performance under Strickland by looking at the “totality of representation” rather than isolated alleged errors. Because the record reflected an active, strategic defense—particularly cross-examination emphasizing the lack of recovered stolen property and gaps in the State’s physical evidence—the appellant failed to show deficient performance and resulting prejudice. Separately, the court audited the bill of costs and held that clerk-assessed fees must be supported by the record; it struck an unsupported $55 subpoena service fee where no return of service or evidence justified it. The court also held that an administrative bill of costs cannot override the trial court’s judgment on timing of payment; because the judgment made costs payable upon release, the appellant was not required to pay while confined. The convictions were affirmed, and the bill of costs was modified to delete the unsupported fee.
Litigation Takeaway
"IAC claims are hard to win when the record shows counsel was “in the fight”—courts evaluate the whole trial, not a checklist of alleged missteps. In family cases (especially termination), build a record reflecting active advocacy and strategy to blunt Strickland attacks. Also, don’t accept boilerplate costs at face value: line-item audit bills of cost and move to strike fees not supported by the record, and enforce decree/judgment language on when costs are actually payable (e.g., not until release from confinement)."
RCIS ENTERPRISES, LLC, Appellant v. HOUSER FABRICATION, LLC, Appellee
COA06
RCIS Enterprises, LLC appealed a bench-trial judgment in favor of Houser Fabrication, LLC for breach of contract that awarded $78,491.10 in damages, prompt-payment interest, and attorney’s fees. The Texarkana Court of Appeals applied the City of Keller legal-sufficiency standard. It upheld the trial court’s finding that a binding contract existed, reasoning that the parties’ testimony and course of performance supplied the essential terms with reasonable certainty and supported a meeting of the minds. But the court concluded the evidence did not provide a legally sufficient evidentiary bridge between the admitted invoices/testimony and the exact dollar amount awarded, so the specific damages figure could not stand. It also held the record did not establish the statutory predicates for Texas Prompt Payment Act interest, requiring that interest award to be reversed. Because the principal recovery and interest were altered on appeal, the prevailing-party posture and “results obtained” changed, so the attorney-fee award was reversed and remanded for redetermination and recalculation consistent with the modified recovery.
Litigation Takeaway
"In a bench trial, findings of fact won’t save a money judgment if the record doesn’t support the exact numbers. Tie every damages/valuation line item to specific exhibits and testimony, and build evidence for statutory interest predicates. If the recovery may be reduced on appeal, preserve the fee award by developing Arthur Andersen evidence (and segregation where needed), because changes to the “bottom line” often force a fee remand."
John C. Campbell v. Medical Imaging Consultants, LLP
COA12
John Campbell, a radiologist, sued his former employer for breaching a non-disparagement clause in their separation agreement after he was passed over for a job at a different medical group. Campbell alleged that a negative comment regarding his "personality issues" from a former partner caused him to lose the position. The Twelfth Court of Appeals affirmed a no-evidence summary judgment against Campbell, ruling that he failed to prove causation. The court found that Campbell's theory relied on "inference stacking"—the speculative assumption that he would have successfully completed a multi-step interview process and received a unanimous hiring vote but for the alleged disparagement.
Litigation Takeaway
"To recover damages for the breach of a non-disparagement clause, it is not enough to prove a negative comment was made; you must provide direct evidence that the disparagement was the 'but-for' cause of a lost job or contract, rather than relying on a chain of speculative inferences about a third party's hiring process."
Jonathan Humber v. City of Palestine
COA12
In Humber v. City of Palestine, the appellant filed a motion for new trial 32 days after the trial court signed the final judgment. The appellant later filed a notice of appeal nearly three months after the judgment, assuming the post-judgment motion had extended the appellate deadline. The Twelfth Court of Appeals analyzed Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1, which requires a "timely" post-judgment motion to extend the filing deadline for a notice of appeal from 30 to 90 days. The court held that an untimely motion for new trial is a nullity for purposes of the appellate timetable and does not extend the court's jurisdiction, leading to the dismissal of the appeal.
Litigation Takeaway
"A motion for new trial must be filed within 30 days of the date the judge signs the order to extend the appellate deadline; filing even one day late means your notice of appeal remains due 30 days from the judgment, potentially terminating your right to appeal."
In Re Constance Benavides a/k/a Constance Chamberlain
COA13
After an eviction judgment was entered following a property dispute, the Relator, Constance Benavides, attempted to stay her removal by filing a supersedeas bond. However, the trial court did not set the bond amount until over a month after the judgment, and Benavides filed the bond shortly thereafter. The Thirteenth Court of Appeals analyzed Texas Property Code § 24.007, which mandates that a bond must be filed within ten days of a judgment to stay an eviction 'under any circumstances.' The court held that the statutory deadline is absolute and contains no exceptions for judicial or administrative delays, ultimately denying mandamus relief and allowing the eviction to proceed.
Litigation Takeaway
"In property crossover evictions, the ten-day deadline to post a supersedeas bond is a 'trap' that admits no excuses; you must aggressively move to set and file the bond within 240 hours of the judgment signature or face immediate removal from the premises, regardless of a pending appeal."
In the Matter of B.T.
COA02
In In the Matter of B.T., the Second Court of Appeals reviewed a juvenile court's order transferring a young man to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to finish an eighteen-year murder sentence. While the court found that the transfer was required by law because the respondent could not complete his minimum confinement before turning nineteen, it identified an error regarding court costs. The appellate court held that because the respondent had been declared indigent, that status was presumed to continue through the appeal. Consequently, the court affirmed the prison transfer but modified the judgment to strike all assessed court costs.
Litigation Takeaway
"Once a party's indigent status is established under the Family Code, it is legally presumed to continue throughout the litigation; attorneys should always audit final judgments and bills of costs to ensure clerks do not improperly assess fees against indigent clients."
Morrison v. Morrison
Supreme Court of Texas
In Morrison v. Morrison, a former wife sought to enforce a divorce decree after her ex-husband allegedly damaged their marital home and failed to return various items of personal property. Although the original decree split the home sale proceeds 50/50, the trial court awarded the wife 100% of the proceeds as damages without making specific findings regarding the fair market value (FMV) of the losses. The Supreme Court of Texas analyzed the distinction between the power to 'enforce' a decree under Family Code Chapter 9 and the prohibition against 'modifying' a substantive property division. The Court held that while trial courts can award money judgments for breaches, they impermissibly modify a decree when they reallocate community assets without a direct evidentiary link to the proven fair market value of the damaged or missing property.
Litigation Takeaway
"To successfully recover damages for damaged or missing assets after a divorce, you must provide specific evidence of fair market value; a court cannot simply reallocate property interests as a penalty for bad behavior without a dollar-for-dollar evidentiary accounting."