Anchors Away! TEXAS SUPREME COURT HOISTS THE NONECONOMIC DAMAGE ANCHORS OUT OF THE WATER (and the jury box). On June 16, 2023, the Texas Supreme Court decided in a plurality opinion that noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering and mental anguish must be tied to the evidence in the case. No more “unsubstantiated anchoring” which the Court described to be a “tactic” whereby attorneys “suggest damages amounts by reference to objects or values with no rational connection to the facts of the case.” Analogies employed by counsel in this recent case included references to a fighter jet and an expensive painting. The case is Gregory v. Chohan, 670 S.W.3d 546, 557 (Tex. 2023).
I DON’T TEACH DRIVERS ED. Defeating negligent hiring, training, and supervision claims. Chamberlain McHaney recently obtained partial summary judgments on direct negligence claims against three different employers for the alleged negligence of their drivers. It seems in every car crash lawsuit we see these days, Plaintiffs allege that companies fail to train their employees “to not run a red light,” fail to train their employees “to yield the right-of-way,” or “fail to teach their employees to use their turn signal.” However, it is the law in Texas that an employer has no duty to teach or train its licensed drivers about basic driving principles.
CHAMBERLAIN MCHANEY’s vigorous defense forces Plaintiff to dismiss alleged wrongful death dram shop case. Dram Shop cases must be defended aggressively. This means obtaining witness statements, bar tabs, video evidence, and cell phone records. You would be surprised to find out that Plaintiffs will pour out their claims when up against a well-prepared defense.
THE BIG (AND COMPLETE) PICTURE: The Supreme Court of Texas recently ruled… On many occasions, Plaintiffs will attempt to prevent defense firms and insurance representatives from obtaining their prior medical records before and after an accident. In a recent decision, the Texas Supreme Court ordered a plaintiff to produce medical records from before and after an accident, although they initially refused. This recent case is helpful to your claims handling by preventing plaintiffs’ obstructionist tactics and receiving complete medical records that are necessary to properly evaluate a claim. The case is In re Liberty Cnty. Mut. Ins. Co., ___ S.W.3d ___, 2023 WL ___ (Tex. Nov. 17, 2023) (per curiam).
NO DUTY IF NO CONTROL: The Supreme Court of Texas recently ruled… Oftentimes, plaintiffs will attempt to find compensation from entities that bear little to no responsibility. This is due in part because the actual party who causes an injury is either the Plaintiff themselves or a party with no money. This month the Texas Supreme Court had to decide whether a hospital had responsibility for an accident that occurred on a public road off of and directly next to its premises. The Texas Supreme Court determined that a property owner has no responsibility to keep safe individuals who leave the owner’s property and suffer injury on land next to the owner’s property. However, if a property owner controls “an adjacent property,” it may have responsibility to an injured party if they are injured by a dangerous condition the owner knows about. In this case, the party was killed due to a careless driver on an adjacent public street and not by any dangerous condition on property controlled by the hospital. The case is HNMC, Inc. v. Chan, No. 22-0053, 2024 WL 202323 (Tex. Jan. 19, 2024).
CHAMBERLAIN McHANEY defends complex cases in trial and on appeal. Please give us a call.
David E. Chamberlain and Sean B. Swords