Employment. An employee of a private foundation was fired after he reported what he thought was illegal activity. He sought relief under the common law exception to the at-will employment rule created by the Texas Supreme Court in Sabine Pilot. The Texas Supreme Court refused relief, holding that "Sabine Pilot protects employees who are asked to commit a crime, not those who are asked not to report one." The Ed Rachal Foundation et al v. D'Unger, __S.W.3rd__, (Tex. 4/21/06). PDF version.

Negligence. The settlement of a medical malpractice claim included the purchase of two annuities for a minor child. One of the annuities contained a guaranteed payout. The other annuity contained no guarantee and begin payments in 15 years from the date of settlement. Prior to the settlement, a guardian ad litem was appointed for the child. The minor child died within a year of the settlement and his mother brought suit against the annuity broker under various theories complaining about the advice and disclosures given to her, as next friend of the minor child. The Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment for the annuity broker, holding that the guardian ad litem displaced the mother as the personal representative of the minor for the duration of the case and that the broker owed no duty to the mother; accordingly, the claims for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty failed. The Court further held that there was no evidence that the broker made misrepresentations or engaged in Deceptive Trade Practices. Phil Patterson v. Gary McMickel, __S.W. 3rd__(Tex. App. -- Fort Worth (4/6/2006). PDF Version.

Insurance. In a claim involving delay in payment on a mortgage insurance policy, the Texas Supreme Court holds that (1) in reviewing a finding that an insurance company failed to pay a claim after coverage had become reasonably clear, the reviewing court is not restricted to the evidence supporting the finding but should consider all of the evidence, pro and con, that reasonable jurors could consider; and (2) an insurer that fails to promptly pay claims must pay for actual damages caused by the failure to pay but extra-contractual damages beyond that "cannot be based on negligence or hindsight; there must be evidence that the insurer was actually aware that it was handling the claim in a way that was false, deceptive, or unfair." Minnesota Life Ins. Co. v. Vasquez, __S.W.3rd__, (Tex. 4/7/06). PDF version.

Procedure. A plaintiff who made a timely general designation of the defendant's expert witnesses (before they had been disclosed), then specifically named one of defendant's experts after disclosure by the defendant, and then supplemented the designation to include information obtained during the expert's deposition on the day following the deposition had timely designated the opposing party's expert and was entitled to call him at trial notwithstanding the fact that the expert was not designated during the plaintiff's initial deadline for designating experts. Hooper v. Chittaluru, __S.W.3rd__ (Tex. App. -- Houston [14th], 3/28/06). PDF version.

Employment/Civil Rights. Under Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, dealing with discrimination based on disability, "running" constitutes a major life activity the substantial limitation of which by an impairment qualifies one as "disabled" within the meaning of the statute. Davis v. City of Grapevine, __S.W.3rd__ (Tex. App -- Fort Worth 2/9/06). PDF Version.

Personal Injury. Seven traffic moving citations over three years raised a fact issue as to competency of the independent contractor hired by the defendant, such that a summary judgment on the plaintiff's claim for negligent hiring was properly denied. The court held that "[i]f the performance of the contract requires driving a vehicle, the person employing the independent contractor is required to investigate the independent contractor’s competency to drive." Mireles v. Ashley, __S.W.3rd__ (Tex. App. -- Amarillo 4/17/06). PDF Version.

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