Civil Litigation Law Blog

As a business lawyer and litigator, I often receive calls from existing and new clients who have been sued, but don't know what to do, other than calling a lawyer.  There are indeed a number of things to consider when the constable/sheriff hands you the service papers.  The following are some of the more important items that merit your attention and consideration:

Abstract Defined.  In Texas, a properly fixed judgment lien acts as a lien on all of the judgment debtor's nonexempt real property in the county of recordation. A judgment lien is created by the proper recording and indexing of an abstract of judgment (the "Abstract").  What exactly is the Abstract?  It's nothing more than a piece of paper containing information about the judgment.  In Texas, it can be prepared by the judge, justice of the peace, the... Read More

Lawyers, and specifically civil litigators, have always had a target on their back.  When a person in power, or a person aspiring to gain power, badmouths lawyers, you can be sure that he (let's call him the "basher," but rest assured that he is aligned with many who think just like him) was just tagged with another loss in the courtroom, a loss that probably resulted in a finding by the jury that the basher did something horribly... Read More

Numerous papers have studied the subject of damages and no attempt is made here to write about all of the issues touching on this subject. Instead, I will attempt to provide a brief overview of the categories into which damages fall.  Hopefully, the reader will then have an idea of what his attorney is talking about when he explains the lawsuit to be filed.

In Texas, the person suffering the loss is entitled to recover damages that will, as nearly as... Read More

Facts:     Owner hires a general contractor ("GC") to design and build his new home.  Owner pays the GC but the GC fails to pay a subcontractor all that it is owed.  The GC abandons the project and departs to points unknown leaving the subcontractor holding the bag.  With only the owner available, what causes of action are available to the subcontractor, if any, against the owner?  As with most answers in the legal area,... Read More

Wouldn't it be good to have a law that would make careless and insensitive individuals and companies, despotic government bureaucrats, out-of-control cops, child molesters and drunk drivers accountable to ordinary Americans?  And when people are harmed, a group of average citizens could carefully examine the facts, and those who were in the wrong - no matter how powerful - may have to pay for the damage they caused.

We have such a law; it is written into the Bill of Rights of... Read More