Second Court of Appeals

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of July 5, 2016.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

Fort Worth ISD v. Palazzalo, No. 02-14-00262-CV (July 7, 2016) (Meier, J., joined by Dauphinot and Sudderth, JJ.).

Held: The legislature intended section 554.004(b) of the Texas Whistleblower Act to function as an affirmative defense, not as an inferential rebuttal issue, and the trial court abused its discretion by failing to submit a question on the defense because FWISD both pleaded and presented evidence to support the submission.

Rubinstein v. Lucchese, Inc., No. 02-15-00317-CV (July 7, 2016) (Kerry FitzGerald (Senior Justice, Retired, Sitting by Assignment), joined by Dauphinot and Gardner, JJ.).

Held: Based on evidence that Appellant executed a personal guaranty to induce Appellee to extend credit to Appellant’s corporation, coupled with evidence that the guaranty’s choice-of-law provision dictated that Texas law applied to disputes stemming from that indebtedness, we conclude that the record contains sufficient proof to support the trial court’s finding that Appellant established the necessary minimum contacts such that Appellant is amenable to suit in Texas. Furthermore, the trial court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over Appellant comports with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.