Astronaut Mark Kelly Doesn’t Seem to Understand How The Law Works
In a recent interview, astronaut turned political activist Mark Kelly sat down with a reporter from Politico to talk about gun regulations. Specifically, Mr. Kelly spoke of the need for tighter restrictions on guns in order to prevent gun violence. When the conversation eventually arrived at the topic of those pesky Republicans in Congress, who...
Is Providing an Interpreter for the Deaf-Blind at a Movie Theater Required by the ADA?
I didn't think I'd write even a single piece about movie theaters during my tenure here, and yet I'm about to do so for the third time. The offenses involved in the other two--a bad date and a questionable screening practice--were pretty innocuous but still worth a closer look. Today's issue involves something more serious,...
If South Carolina Can Mandate Liquor Liability Insurance, Why Can’t Texas?
Good news, South Carolinians! Legislators in your state passed a law in June requiring bars and restaurants that sell alcohol past 5 p.m. to have liquor liability insurance policies of at least $1 million. Under the new law, these businesses will need to show proof of such a policy before they are able to obtain...
Strong Winds: Acts of God and “Acts of God”
Hurricane Harvey may have dissipated, his awful work complete, but no sooner did the vicious storm subside than his girlfriend Irma turned up to continue in his absence. I feel for those suffering through the intense rains and flooding, the gale-force winds, and the cumulative threat to life and property. Sadly, the Gulf states have...
NBC News Gives Its Trusting Readers a Wrong Interpretation of the Law.
A news piece I recently encountered tried to summarize Texas policy about certain kinds of auto accidents, but the piece itself shows a highly flawed understanding of the very laws it attempts to explain. It's wrong of them to spread that faulty information, considering how many readers will likely accept their version as gospel truth--after...
The Lesser of Two Evils in the Law: Alabama Edition
It's often a throwaway line when people write that "we have the best justice system on earth, even though it's not perfect." While those of us who write about the law for a living often extol the virtues of our legal system, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that sometimes the law is...
A Student Asks: Who is Liable when Companies Cheat on Drug Tests?
A student sent us this email: I am a business law student and I am doing my research paper on the following: "Joe" gets called for his random CDL drug test, but tells the Operations Manager that he is not going to pass. The Operations Manager tells the Human Resources Manager to hold off on...
The Real Takeaway From the Matal v. Tam Decision
The Supreme Court of the U.S. recently ruled that individuals have the right to trademark offensive words and phrases for the sake of using them as company or product names. This unanimous decision is absolutely a victory for proponents of free speech (even if it seems like the mean-spirited kind), but it actually has a...
CNN Just Blackmailed Someone — Business as Usual for Some Big Companies
As you've probably heard by now, President Donald Trump recently retweeted an animated GIF which highlights an appearance he made on a professional wrestling program. However, unlike the original version, which showed then-businessman Trump body-slamming the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Vince McMahon, this edited version features McMahon as an anthropomorphic representation of CNN. The...
Click It Or Ticket 2017 Has Begun, But Just Buckle Up So You Don’t Get Obliterated
Monday, May 22 marks the beginning of the Texas Department of Transportation's two-week "Click It Or Ticket" campaign. Until June 4, Texas law enforcement officers will actively ticket drivers and passengers who are not wearing seatbelts. People whose young children are not riding in appropriate child-safety seats or booster seats will also be subject to...
How Do I Discover the Other Driver’s Insurance Policy Limits?
I've learned over the years that the quickest way to make people's eyes glaze over is to either discuss evidentiary rules in Texas courts or to talk about insurance. Despite being a topic that doesn't make people scream, "Oh, tell me more," following a fatal accident, knowing how insurance works is crucial to the surviving...
The Legal Landscape Can Be Murky For Injured Cell Tower Workers
Work-injury law is already more complicated in Texas than in any other state. That's because Texas operates two parallel systems that help those who are injured on the job. The traditional workers' compensation system pays benefits to workers or their families when a worker is injured or killed on the job, regardless of whether or...
Are Passengers “Assuming the Risk” When They Ride with Drunk Drivers?
Everyone can probably agree that riding with an intoxicated driver is dangerous. However a passenger may have ended up in the vehicle (not knowing that the driver was intoxicated, or maybe even just drunk themselves), there's a significant measure of danger in sharing it with a drunk person behind the wheel. If we were to...
Atlanta Tragedy Shows Why We Have Attractive Nuisance Doctrine
It's no secret that any time a law firm discusses a tragic event in the news, people will invariably accuse that firm of attempting to profit from it. However, when the reaction of most people is that "the victim's family is going to make a ton of money," it illustrates a lack of knowledge about...
Does Not Wearing a Seatbelt Bar Someone From Getting Compensation?
One of the questions that I get asked all the time by people is, "If someone isn't wearing a seatbelt in a crash, can they still recover compensation for their injuries?" I learned of a recent trucking accident in the Texas Panhandle that makes answering this question particularly timely. Deaf Smith County, TX: April 4,...
Texans Fighting Wrong-Way Driving With Smarter Signs
One such set of lines is the ones that divide the lanes of the road. Motor vehicles are obviously extremely dangerous, especially when operated incorrectly. The law does what it can to make sure people more or less understand this fact and keep it in mind when operating a vehicle, but drivers still make bad...
When an Accident Implies Negligence: The Principle of Res Ipsa Loquitur
One can't look at any controversy in the courts without hearing someone getting worked up about "judges making laws." While judges shouldn't rewrite laws from the bench in the face of a clearly defined statute, our common law legal system actually encourages them to speak on issues where the law is silent. These well-established principles...
Are “Not Responsible for Broken Windshield” Signs Legally Enforceable? Not a Chance
As long as the law has existed, there have been the twin impulses to find legal ways to get around it and to use the protections of law as a shield against other legal actions. This could rightly be termed a quest for technicalities. A great example of this is that it is well-known that...
Keep Austin Weird, Not Dangerous!: Texas Dram Shop Law and Travis County
The city of Austin, Texas is host to a wide variety of interesting sights and activities. Considered by many as the state's major artistic hub, "ATX" is a cultural center famous for unique cuisine and live music concerts. The city actually ranks first in Texas for number of artists and musicians per capita, which likely...
How The Reasonably Prudent Professional Standard of Care Works
In the vast majority of personal injury cases, whether a defendant was negligent is determined by whether they acted as a reasonably prudent person would have in a similar situation. The perfect example of this would be your typical car accident, where one passenger car strikes another. Neither of the drivers has commercial license, or...
