Legal News Articles

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Chris Mahfouz Joins HYLA Board for 2022-2023

Abraham Watkins Associate, Chris Mahfouz, will join the Board of Directors of the Houston Young Lawyers Association (“HYLA”) for the 2022-2023 bar year. As a part of his Board responsibilities, Mahfouz will also serve as the chair of HYLA’s Signature Events Committee, planning a number of the organization’s yearly events. HYLA is a dynamic young…

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Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 95 – The Entire Workplace Cannot Be An “Improvement”

In Texas, a landowning defendant sued under a premises liability theory of negligence is afforded a particularly stalwart affirmative defense pursuant to Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 95. Referred to commonly as simply “Chapter 95,” it “applies to a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim (1) for damages caused by negligence resulting in…

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FORMOSA PLASTIC’S $50 MILLION PUNISHMENT UPHELD BY SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DISTRICT COURT

On March 22, 2022, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt of the Southern District of Texas harshly ruled that Formosa Plastics’ excuses for skirting a $50 million consent decree because of the dumping of billions of plastic pellets in the Gulf of Mexico “fail[ed] on all counts.” In the face of this wanton pollution, corporate plastics…

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NON-SUBSCRIBERS AND THE TEXAS LABOR ACT

The Texas Workers’ Compensation Act allows employers to subscribe to a workers’ compensation insurance program. This insurance allows employees of subscribers to recover for injuries without establishing the employer’s fault and without regard to the employee’s negligence. Subscribed Texas employers, in return for subscribing to the Act, cannot be sued by their employers in most…

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The Importance of Move Over/Slow Down Laws in Texas

A recent poll revealed that as many as one (1) in four (4) Texas drivers are unaware that Texas law requires drivers to move over or slow down when passing emergency vehicles or utility vehicles. Specifically, Texas Transportation Code § 545.157 requires drivers to vacate the lane closest to a stopped emergency vehicle or utility…

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