Every year Texas appellate courts issue hundreds of decisions, some interesting and others frankly boring. This is my summary of the interesting decisions I thought worth highlighting.
Interesting Court Decisions of 2024
Attorney Testimonies
Testimony by an attorney can be considered as evidence even if the attorney is not sworn as a witness. In that case, the attorney, who was appointed as a guardian ad litem, was deemed an officer of the court and therefore already under a duty to tell the truth. Besides, no one objected to the failure to swear in the attorney.
Right to a Jury Trial
There is no statutory right to a jury trial for a trust modification proceeding. This case was far-reaching because the court’s reasoning was broad and could be used to bar jury trials for other causes of action.
Probate
If a will was probated as a muniment of title prior to September 1, 2019, that case cannot be reopened to allow for regular administration. This decision was bad news for older muniment of title cases.
Parental Rights
While parents have a fundamental right to make decisions for their minor children, that right is not absolute. According to the Texas Supreme Court, the state has the authority to regulate medical treatment for children. The case upheld the Texas law prohibiting medical treatments for children related to gender transitioning.
Divorce Cases
In a case where the court announced a divorce in open court but did not specify the grounds, property division, or file a written decree before one of the parties died, the court lacked jurisdiction to file the written decree after death. In other words, although the court pronounced them divorced, the parties were still married when one of them died.
Court of Appeals
The new 15th Court of Appeals, which has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over certain civil matters involving the state of Texas and its agencies, and appeals from the Texas business courts, is constitutional.
Mental Anguish Damages
If you sue for mental anguish damages, then your mental health records become discoverable. You cannot hide behind mental health and patient-doctor privileges.
Property Owner Liability
A property owner is generally not responsible for someone’s safety after they leave the property and are injured on a nearby public property.
Court Deference to Governmental Agencies
No summary would be complete without mentioning a major U.S. Supreme Court decision: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This decision removed the courts’ deference to governmental agencies in interpreting rules. Further, it held that an agency action must be authorized by statute to be valid. The reaction was prompt: a multitude of agency actions have already been challenged.
Generative Artificial Intelligence
Courts everywhere wrestled with the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (“GAI”) by attorneys. The problem is that GAI is unreliable: when it does not know an answer, then it often just makes one up. This has happened so often that is referred to as the “hallucination” of cases. GAI also has an unfortunate track record of conjuring up fake statutes, misciting sources, and drawing erroneous legal conclusions.
After several cases where courts sanctioned lawyers for using GAI-generated pleadings and excluded experts for relying on GAI to create their reports, the Courts responded by issuing standing orders and local rules on using GAI in their Courtrooms. These run the gamut from making attorneys aver on each pleading whether or not GAI was used to requiring attorneys to take extra steps to personally check all sources.
Prepare for 2025 with Hammerle Finley Law Firm
While 2024 was eventful, we expect 2025 to eclipse it because the Texas legislature is meeting and Republicans are taking control of the Federal executive and legislative branches. Stay tuned.
If you’re concerned about any of these court decisions affecting you, schedule a consultation with our team of expert attorneys today.
Virginia Hammerle is an accredited estate planner and represents clients in estate planning, probate, guardianship, and contested litigation. She may be reached at legaltalktexas@hammerle.com. This blog contains general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
