The rule in Texas (and other states) is that setting a booby trap is permissible if and only if the facts are such that the property owner could have used same force and inflicted the same injury had he been present in...more
The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Eviction Moratorium confirms President Reagan’s quip that a government program is the “nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” As explained in my prior post, the CDC...more
8/20/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Financial Distress ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Lack of Authority ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
Relief Measures ,
Rent ,
Rental Property ,
Statutory Authority ,
Tenants
Andy Taylor’s seven-year-old son, Opie, discovers the fireworks that his father had purchased for Independence Day. He begins shooting them in a field behind their house. But Opie fails to extinguish one of the matches, which...more
As more Americans get vaccinated and the infection rates continue to decline, there is increasing debate on whether the crisis has passed such that businesses can begin operating normally. One of the flashpoints is evictions...more
5/6/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Financial Distress ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
Relief Measures ,
Rent ,
Rental Property ,
Tenants
Last month’s post explained how setting up a dummy company can help seal a deal. Unfortunately, dummy companies can be used for far more nefarious purposes, including money laundering, terrorism financing, and tax fraud....more
Using a dummy company, whose sole purpose is to conceal the purchaser’s identity, is a well-established and generally legal practice. The most famous example is The Walt Disney Company’s use of multiple dummy companies to buy...more
Eager to spark the socialist revolution, left-wing activists seized Ramsett Park and the surrounding area and declared an independent autonomous community dedicated to social and economic justice.
While that hypothetical...more
11/20/2020
/ Business Losses ,
Due Process ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Liability ,
Private Property ,
Property Damage ,
Protests ,
State and Local Government ,
Takings Clause
The Lillian Corporation purchases a vacant and dilapidated office building with plans to demolish it and build luxury condos. Only one thing stands in the way: a mural on the side of the building painted years earlier by a...more
Reeling from months of governmental orders that required all restaurants to close their doors, Chez Quis was elated to re-open and welcome back its diners, even at a reduced capacity. But elation quickly turned to despair...more
Let’s set aside fracking challenges, low prices, and pipeline rejections to discuss the mundane. Should you as an owner of property be concerned about premises liability claims? We’re talking about the office environment and...more
After months of governmental orders that required all non-essential businesses to close their doors, many companies are eager (or even desperate) to re-open and begin generating revenue. But they are wary of potential...more
The extraordinary measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to cause constitutional clashes. My last post’s opening hypothetical about members of a congregation being ticketed for attending...more
The First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause will likely not allow members of Reverend Gantry’s congregation to evade the consequences of violating the shelter-in-place order....more
Wanting to diversify his investments, Ernest “Big Daddy” Bux signed a franchise agreement with GA Fitness last year. Construction by Big Daddy’s contractor Bill Toosuit is scheduled to be completed for in time for an early...more
Wanting to diversify his investments, Ernest “Big Daddy” Bux signed a franchise agreement with GA Fitness last year. Construction by Big Daddy’s contractor Bill Toosuit is scheduled to be completed for in time for an early...more
In Texas, Frasier is likely a party to—and liable for—the contracts that he signed using a trade or “doing business as” (DBA) name. The rules governing an agent’s liability for contracts that he signs on a company’s behalf...more
On December 26, Marty and Dave McFly were playing video games when, downstairs in the living room, the hoverboard that Marty had received for Christmas ignited. The fire quickly engulfed the Christmas tree and spread...more
12/23/2019
/ Amazon Marketplace ,
Children's Toys ,
Communications Decency Act ,
Distributors ,
E-Commerce ,
Hoverboards ,
Internet ,
Liability ,
Manufacturers ,
Negligence ,
Privileges and Immunities ,
Product Defects ,
Retailers ,
Risk Management ,
Sellers ,
Supply Chain ,
Vendors ,
Websites
Texas is one of 34 states that have enacted price gouging laws to protect consumers after a disaster. The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices—Consumer Protection Act (DTPA) lists “price gouging” as one of the prohibited false,...more
Years ago, Quicey Morris’s father bought the family ranch near Amarillo from Jonathan and Mina Harker. Having not heard from either until last week, Quicey was surprised when Mina showed up with a small urn and an unusual...more
The Dallas Court of Appeals recently held that employers can choose where to sue former employees who have breached their covenants not to compete. In re Ross, No. 05-18-01052-CV, 2018 WL 6695596 (Tex. App.—Dallas Dec. 20,...more
Too old to trick-or-treat, too cool to stay at home with their parents and wanting some Halloween excitement, high school students (presumably 18 years old) Rosemary and Buffy head for Hill House, a new haunted house where...more
It must be maddening to non-lawyers that a large segment of an industry can operate in harmony by agreeing that a contract in widespread use means one thing, only to have party-crashers decide it means another....more