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July 19, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Whoever is in charge of the thermostat can turn it down a notch or two.  In the meantime, the courts continue churning out error preservation decisions. Table of Contents Coming out of a bench trial, you can always raise a legal sufficiency claim for the first time on appeal Legal […]

July 9, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Don’t know what to say, except it looks like we’re in for a long, hot summer (maybe someone ought to write a book). Table of Contents Here is an interesting case in which the court of appeals held that a party did not waive its claim of privilege as to

July 3, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Don’t pay the ransom, I’ve escaped, and just in time for July 4.  Here are about 3 weeks worth of error preservation decisions, including a couple from the Supreme Court: Table of Contents The Supreme Court gave us two error preservation rulings, on a jury demand and legal sufficiency Jury

June 13, 2022 Dear Folks: I’m still a week behind, but I plan to catch up this next weekend. Table of Contents The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that in parental right termination cases parties must preserve Casteel complaints Jury Charge Here is one I find important, as a reminder: get a signed order. Do not

May 23, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Table of Contents The Supreme Court recently expounded on how an error preservation ruling in one severed claim was res judicata on the preservation question in a different severed claim Oil and Gas/Drainage/Res Judicata Your objection at trial must be the same as the complaint on appeal Jury Charge Some

May 9, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Don’t pay the ransom, I’ve escaped.  The pesky day job kept getting in the way.  🙂 Table of Contents Subject matter jurisdiction–typically a complaint that can be raised anytime, but sometimes failing to raise that complaint in parental right termination cases, concerning the trial court taking too long to terminate

March 24, 2022 Dear Friends: Table of Contents As the Supreme Court reminds us, courts of appeals cannot sustain a traditional summary judgment on grounds not asserted in the summary judgment motion Summary Judgment You have to bring your complaint to the attention of the trial court–and just filing a Rule 11 Agreement may not

March 9, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Lots of activity this last week, including the Texas Supreme Court’s extensive discussion about what qualifies as a ruling on an objection to summary judgment evidence, and a couple of courts talking about when complaints were sufficiently specific: Table of Contents Courts don’t often address the specificity of the complaint,

February 28, 2022 Dearly Beloved: Table of Contents While there may be a conflict among the courts of appeals, here is one court which recently held that a post-dismissal motion is not necessary to complain about death penalty sanctions (assuming you complained about the same before the sanctions were imposed) Death Penalty Sanctions (Discovery) Your

February 18, 2022 Dearly Beloved: There are a relatively few preservation decisions this week, allowing us to contemplate each more fully.  Or, alternatively, adjourn to the basketball game earlier. Table of Contents Though there is a split of authority, most courts hold that your opponent can first complaint on appeal that a temporary injunction order