Dallas Austin

Jurors in Georgia recently awarded landowners $135.5 million in damages, including $125 million in punitive damages, for siltation and sedimentation of a pond caused by development of a solar energy farm on an adjoining piece of property.  How did this happen? Shaun and Amie Harris through a corporate entity, H&L Farms, LLC, purchased 1630 acres of land (H&L Farm), including a 21 acre lake, in Stewart, Georgia in March 2021.  The prior owner, Kawikee Refuge, LLC, was controlled by Jim Butler and Joel Wooten, the attorneys who ultimately represented the Harrises in this dispute. In 20

The Texas Legislature’s general session concluded on May 29, 2023 with several very important pieces of legislation being passed.  The Legislature was unable to resolve issues related to property tax relief and border security and Governor Abbott has a called for a Special Session to address those issues.  Several of the bills which did pass will impact both construction and businesses in the State of Texas and include the following. HB 1255 – Limitation Periods on Arbitration Proceedings  Summary: HB 1255 makes it clear that statutes of limitation apply and will bar claims in arbitrat

On April 18, 2023, a Dallas jury awarded $44 million in damages to a Texas homeowner who was rendered a paraplegic from an electric shock when trying to cut trim trees near a high-voltage power line.  How did this happen? The Taylors own a rental house on a corner lot in Graham, Texas. The Shifletts own the house next door.  Both houses receive electrical power from lines owned and operated by Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC (Oncor).  A 7,200 volt uninsulated power line runs to the corner of the Taylors’ property and two 240 volt insulated service lines, one running to the Taylors’

In April 2023, a Dallas County jury awarded over $860 million to the family of a woman killed when a crane collapsed on her apartment complex. The jury’s award against real estate developer, Greystar Development & Construction, LP (Greystar), was $160 million more than the Plaintiffs requested. How did this happen? During a severe thunderstorm on June 9, 2019, a tower crane collapsed on the Elan City Lights Apartment Community in Dallas. The collapse injured several residents of the Elan and killed Kiersten Smith. Shortly after the collapse, Smith’s family sued Greystar and two other e

Who decides whether a dispute is properly brought in court or arbitration? The Texas Supreme Court recently weighed in on this issue, holding that a contract referencing a standard set of arbitration rules evidences the parties’ intent to delegate the issue of “arbitrability” to an arbitrator. In Totalenergies E&P USA, Inc. v. MP Gulf of Mexico, LLC, MP Gulf and Total owned an oil-and-gas processing system servicing a group of oil-and-gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The parties agreed to create a “Common System” wherein the parties executed contracts governing multiple facets o