Kinky Friedman is once again throwing his ten gallon hat into the ring for the Texas gubernatorial election, this time as a Democrat. Kinky is a part time novelist, huckster, musician, raconteur and bon vivant. Yet to his critics, he is simply a gadfly. The self-described “Kinkster” does not appear to be too worried about running against his Republican opponents, incumbent Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Noting that Perry was a Texas A&M University “Yell Leader” and Hutchison was a University of Texas Cheerleader during their respective college years, the Kinkster quipped to a Houston newspaper reporter: “I think Rick and Kay are certainly the ‘Battle of the Cheerleaders.’ They were both cheerleaders in college, and before that I believe they were hall monitors. We have the ‘Clash of the Plastic Titans.’ ”
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Chamberlain♦McHaney Wins Summary Judgment In Products Liability Death Case: Plaintiffs’ decedent, a houseboat deckhand, drowned underneath the boat’s swim platform while attempting to free an anchor line that had fouled the propeller. Plaintiffs claimed that the drowning was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, and further alleged that the houseboat was defective and unreasonably dangerous in that it discharged generator exhaust under the boat’s swim platform. Plaintiffs sued the houseboat manufacturer and the company that brokered the sale, alleging strict products liability. We filed a summary judgment motion on behalf our client, the defendant broker, arguing that the broker was not a “seller” as defined by Chapter 82 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code and under the Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision in New Texas Auto Auctions Services v. Gomez de Hernandez. The trial court agreed, granting summary judgment as to all claims against our client. David Chamberlain and Erin Westendorf handled the case for the firm. Stephens v GDP Marine, Inc. (Travis County, Texas, 2009).
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Tx/Up! Halloween Update: Our Texas Update! staff went trick or treating again this year, but without much success. All we got was a bag full of restraining orders.
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Chamberlain♦McHaney Wins Dismissal of Case; Appellate Court finds Plaintiff’s Case to be Frivolous: Plaintiff filed suit against our client, a large and well respected Texas grocery store chain (HEB), claiming he was improperly detained by store employees for shoplifting. He brought causes of action for defamation, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, fraud and civil conspiracy. He also sued his parole officer, alleging that the officer conspired with HEB to cause his subsequent re-imprisonment in the cross-bar motel for parole violations. We moved for dismissal on behalf of HEB, arguing that not only was the case meritless, it was downright frivolous. The trial court agreed, dismissing HEB. The plaintiff then appealed, but the Austin Court of Appeals sanguinely affirmed the dismissal. In an erudite opinion, Chief Justice Woody Jones wrote for a unanimous appellate court that there was no arguable basis in law supporting any of the plaintiff’s claims. Ranelle Meroney handle the case for the firm. Carr v H.E. Butt Grocery Co, (Tex. App.—Austin, 2009).
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David Chamberlain has been elected to the board of directors of DRI, the largest association of defense trial lawyers and corporate in-house lawyers in North America and Europe. DRI has over 22,000 members and serves as the international voice of the defense bar. NOTE: “DRI” is the acronym for Defense Research Institute, and not to be confused with Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (the miscreant punk rock/heavy metal crossover band of the same nomenclature). For more information about DRI, click on www.dri.org.
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As to you truants out there who did not sign up for and attend our full day, fully accredited 14th Annual Ultimate Claims Handling Seminar last month, you missed out. Almost 300 folks attended this year. But you can take succor and redeem yourself by attending our 15th Annual Ultimate Claims Handling Seminar scheduled for October 1, 2010 at the CityPlace Conference Center in Dallas, where we will cover all the big cases of the year. Save the Date! October 1, 2010. Pre-registration will open in July.
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Chamberlain♦McHaney is A-V (highest peer review) Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers) and is listed in A.M. Best’s Directory of Recommended Attorneys.