Texas Case Commentaries

Section 18.001’s “Unless” Clause as an All-or-Nothing Bar: Any Compliant Counteraffidavit Defeats Affidavit Admissibility

Date: May 6, 2026

Section 18.001’s “Unless” Clause as an All-or-Nothing Bar: Any Compliant Counteraffidavit Defeats Affidavit Admissibility Case: Tatia Ortiz v. Ramu Nelapatla Court: Supreme Court of Texas Date: May...

Partial Section 18.001 Counteraffidavits: Unchallenged Medical-Expense Portions Remain Admissible (and Counteraffidavits May Prove the Reasonable Portion)

Date: May 5, 2026

Partial Section 18.001 Counteraffidavits: Unchallenged Medical-Expense Portions Remain Admissible (and Counteraffidavits May Prove the Reasonable Portion) I. Introduction Parties: Tatia Ortiz...

Commissioner’s § 481.034(g) Objections Are Effectively Unreviewable and Not Subject to APA Rulemaking; Courts May Not Enjoin Agencies to “Rewrite” Controlled-Substance Schedules

Date: May 5, 2026

Commissioner’s § 481.034(g) Objections Are Effectively Unreviewable and Not Subject to APA Rulemaking; Courts May Not Enjoin Agencies to “Rewrite” Controlled-Substance Schedules 1. Introduction In...

Temporary-Injunction Relief Can Confer “Prevailing Party” Status Under Texas Education Code § 11.1512; § 11.1512(c-2) Creates a No-Exhaustion Path to Court

Date: Apr 29, 2026

Temporary-Injunction Relief Can Confer “Prevailing Party” Status Under Texas Education Code § 11.1512; § 11.1512(c-2) Creates a No-Exhaustion Path to Court I. Introduction Case: WEBB CONSOLIDATED...

Permissive-Appeal Jurisdiction Encompasses Fairly Included Subsidiary Issues, Including the Presumed-Grant Doctrine in Double-Fraction Royalty Disputes

Date: Apr 29, 2026

Permissive-Appeal Jurisdiction Encompasses Fairly Included Subsidiary Issues, Including the Presumed-Grant Doctrine in Double-Fraction Royalty Disputes Case: BOREN DESCENDANTS AND ROYALTY OWNERS v....

Mootness from Closed DFPS Investigations and Children’s Majority; Speculative Provider Harms Defeat Standing for Injunctive Relief

Date: Apr 29, 2026

Mootness from Closed DFPS Investigations and Children’s Majority; Speculative Provider Harms Defeat Standing for Injunctive Relief I. Introduction These consolidated matters arise from three...

Permanent Closure and Aging Out Moot Injunction Challenges to DFPS Investigations; Speculative Provider Harms Do Not Confer Standing

Date: Apr 29, 2026

Permanent Closure and Aging Out Moot Injunction Challenges to DFPS Investigations; Speculative Provider Harms Do Not Confer Standing I. Introduction In these consolidated interlocutory appeals, the...

Permissive-Appeal Scope Includes Fairly Included Issues Like the Presumed-Grant Doctrine in Double-Fraction Royalty Disputes

Date: Apr 29, 2026

Permissive-Appeal Scope Includes Fairly Included Issues Like the Presumed-Grant Doctrine in Double-Fraction Royalty Disputes I. Introduction This Supreme Court of Texas per curiam opinion arises out...

Temporary Injunction as Merits-Dispositive Relief Under Texas Education Code § 11.1512: Fees Survive Mootness and No Administrative Exhaustion Required

Date: Apr 29, 2026

Temporary Injunction as Merits-Dispositive Relief Under Texas Education Code § 11.1512: Fees Survive Mootness and No Administrative Exhaustion Required I. Introduction In WEBB CONSOLIDATED...

Texas Public Information Act: Post-Request “Confidentiality” Inquiry and Resetting the 10-Business-Day Attorney General Deadline

Date: Apr 18, 2026

Texas Public Information Act: Post-Request “Confidentiality” Inquiry and Resetting the 10-Business-Day Attorney General Deadline 1. Introduction Case: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality v. Ken...

Public Information Act Deadlines Reset by Good-Faith Narrowing Requests; Omission of Withdrawal Warning Does Not Forfeit Reset; Mailbox Rule Timeliness May Be Proven in Court

Date: Apr 18, 2026

Public Information Act Deadlines Reset by Good-Faith Narrowing Requests; Omission of Withdrawal Warning Does Not Forfeit Reset; Mailbox Rule Timeliness May Be Proven in Court Introduction In Texas...

Texas Appellate “Order of Operations”: Rendition Issues Must Be Decided Before Remand; Harm Analysis Must Review the Whole Record

Date: Apr 18, 2026

Texas Appellate “Order of Operations”: Rendition Issues Must Be Decided Before Remand; Harm Analysis Must Review the Whole Record Case: Ron Valk d/b/a Platinum Construction v. Copper Creek...

“Free of Cost Forever” Does Not Shift Royalty Valuation Downstream Absent Clear Valuation-Point or Gross-Proceeds Language (Tex. 2026)

Date: Apr 16, 2026

“Free of Cost Forever” Does Not Shift Royalty Valuation Downstream Absent Clear Valuation-Point or Gross-Proceeds Language (Tex. 2026) I. Introduction In Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd., Fasken Land and...

Constructive Notice in Texas Slip-and-Fall Cases Requires Evidence of Hazard Duration at the Time and Place of Injury

Date: Apr 11, 2026

Constructive Notice in Texas Slip-and-Fall Cases Requires Evidence of Hazard Duration at the Time and Place of Injury I. Introduction H-E-B, L.P. v. Marissa Peterson is a premises-liability...

Section 21.105 as a Threshold Bar: No Chapter 21 Disability-Liability When the Condition Objectively Impairs Reasonable Job Performance

Date: Apr 11, 2026

Section 21.105 as a Threshold Bar: No Chapter 21 Disability-Liability When the Condition Objectively Impairs Reasonable Job Performance Case: Texas Department of Public Safety v. Robert Christopher...

“All Laws” Clauses Incorporate Later-Enacted PURA Pole-Attachment Limits and Make Them Contract-Enforceable

Date: Apr 11, 2026

“All Laws” Clauses Incorporate Later-Enacted PURA Pole-Attachment Limits and Make Them Contract-Enforceable I. Introduction In Spectrum Gulf Coast, LLC v. City of San Antonio, acting by and through...

Contractual Proportional Indemnity Survives Voluntary Settlement and Accrues at Settlement

Date: Mar 14, 2026

Contractual Proportional Indemnity Survives Voluntary Settlement and Accrues at Settlement Case: S&B Engineers & Constructors, Ltd. and Zurich American Insurance Company v. Scallon Controls, Inc....

“Allocable Share” Proportionate Indemnity Does Not Authorize Post‑Settlement Cost-Shifting Absent Express Language

Date: Mar 14, 2026

“Allocable Share” Proportionate Indemnity Does Not Authorize Post‑Settlement Cost-Shifting Absent Express Language I. Introduction This commentary addresses Justice Bland’s dissent (joined by...

Express 1/128 “Product Fraction” and Explanatory Parenthetical Rebut Van Dyke’s Double-Fraction Presumption; Future-Lease Royalty Construed as Fixed When Measured from the Whole Tract

Date: Mar 14, 2026

Express 1/128 “Product Fraction” and Explanatory Parenthetical Rebut Van Dyke’s Double-Fraction Presumption; Future-Lease Royalty Construed as Fixed When Measured from the Whole Tract Introduction...

Probate Finality in Texas: An Order Admitting a Will Is Not Appealable When It Expressly Leaves Pending Objections Unruled

Date: Feb 16, 2026

Probate Finality in Texas: An Order Admitting a Will Is Not Appealable When It Expressly Leaves Pending Objections Unruled Introduction In the Estate of J. Hugh Wheatfall, Deceased is a Texas...