Dallas Austin

Is a failure to procure the right type of insurance for a construction contract a material breach of contract?  If so, what are the damages arising from that breach and are they actual or consequential?  A recent opinion from the Houston Court of Appeals answers these important questions. In Totalenergies Petrochemicals & Refining USA, Inc., v. Kinder Morgan Petcoke, LP, et al., an employee of Kinder Morgan Petcoke (Kinder Morgan), Gary Counts, died at a refinery owned by Totalenergies Petrochemicals & Refining (Total).  Counts’ estate filed suit against Kinder Morgan, Total and s

When is an arbitration clause illusory and, therefore, unenforceable? The Texas Supreme Court recently decided this issue in an employment context in In re Whataburger Restaurants LLC. In February 2013 Yvonne Cardwell sued her employer, Whataburger Restaurants LLC, claiming she had been injured while working at a Whataburger restaurant in El Paso, Texas. At the time she was hired, Cardwell signed an acknowledgement that she was as at-will employee and agreed to the policies in the 51-page Employee Handbook.  The Handbook included a provision requiring all workplace injury claims to be submitt

In late July, a Dallas jury awarded the Estate of Betty Thomas $7 billion in punitive damages on top of the $375 million in actual damages it awarded one month earlier.  How did this happen and what happens next? In December 2019, Roy James Holden, an employee of Charter Spectrum, a cable company, paid a service call to Thomas’s house.  The next day, “broke”, “hungry” and off-duty, Holden returned to Thomas’s house driving a Spectrum van and dressed in his service uniform.  Holden stabbed Thomas to death using a Spectrum utility knife and wearing company issued gloves, leaving h

COVID-19 silently infects and can be lethal. Monkeypox infects but leaves a distinct mark, a pock.  While both create challenges for employers, the visible emergence of monkeypox requires revisiting lessons from the earliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent claims of employment discrimination. Monkeypox virus presents an emerging problem for employers. Cases are increasing in Texas and nationwide. Several counties and cities in Texas have or are considering declaring monkeypox a public health emergency. The monkeypox virus is a relative of smallpox and causes systemic symptoms, incl

Is a wrongful death claim brought by the estate of an erotic dancer subject to binding arbitration? The Texas Supreme Court recently weighed in on this issue. In Baby Dolls Topless Saloons, Inc. v. Sotero, an erotic dancer, Stephanie Sotero Hernandez, was killed in a tragic crash while riding in a car driven by a coworker after they left work at Baby Dolls Topless Saloon. Hernandez’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Baby Dolls, alleging that Baby Dolls continued to serve Hernandez’s coworker alcohol knowing she was intoxicated. In response to the lawsuit, Baby Dolls moved to c