Don’t “Waive” Goodbye to Your Personal Jurisdiction Challenge

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November 17, 2014

In the law, “waiver” is defined as the voluntary relinquishment of a known right. Lawyers waive defenses and legal argument in courts more often than you might think. Sometimes it’s intentional, and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s the result of the lawyer’s mistake. A lawyer forgets to raise a defense,…

Dallas Court of Appeals Imposes Sanctions for Frivolous Appeal of Special Appearance

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November 14, 2014

In a rare move, the Dallas Court of Appeals has levied sanctions against a party for filing a frivolous appeal of a trial court’s order denying that party’s special appearance.  In Estate of Deuel-Nash, 2014 WL 5581044 (Tex. App. – Dallas 2014, n.p.h.), the defendant (Nash) in a probate proceeding…

Be Careful Where You Vacation: Personal Jurisdiction Based on Physical Presence

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November 11, 2014

My family spent this past 4th of July weekend at a bed and breakfast in Granbury, Texas. We haven’t done any “small town” Texas vacations, and this seemed about as good an opportunity as any. Granbury puts on a great celebration of our nation’s birthday in its town square. A…

Food Trucks: Cooking Up a Jurisdictional Dispute

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November 10, 2014

I love food trucks. They’re just cool. It’s no wonder they’re the latest craze among foodies. Most of them put out surprisingly good fare (not just street tacos, but all types of cuisine) and what’s really nice is they often come to you. But before there was social media, you…