START FROM THE END, BEFORE YOU EVEN BEGIN My next several posts to this BLOG will explore the substance of the specific Questions that Texas juries are asked to decide in real estate lawsuits. Juries answer these questions at the very end of a civil lawsuit - after...
PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY INJURY - WHY IT MATTERS Injury resulting from damage to land is characterized as Permanent or Temporary. This is true whether the injured party asserts a claim for nuisance, trespass or water diversion/flooding under Section 11.086 of the Texas...
OBJECTIVE OF RES JUDICATA OR CLAIM PRECLUSION “The doctrine of res judicata, also known as claim preclusion, bars lawsuits that arise out of the same subject matter as a prior suit when, with the use of diligence, that subject matter could have been litigated in the...
REQUIRED PROOF FOR ADVERSE POSSESSION - TITLE THROUGH PASSAGE OF TIME & OTHER PROOF Under Texas law, adverse possession requires “an actual and visible appropriation of real property, commenced and continued under a claim of right that is inconsistent with and is...
REQUIRED SHOWING FOR TRESPASS CLAIM In order to prevail on a claim for Trespass to real property, a Plaintiff must show an unauthorized physical entry onto his property by some person or thing. Warwick Towers Council of Co-Owners v. Park Warwick, L.P., 298 S.W.3d...
Boundary disputes are common. So too, are survey discrepancies and disagreements among surveyors as to the precise location of property boundaries. SURVEYS NOT ALWAYS RELIABLE OR UNDERSTANDABLE Surveying is as much an "art" as it is a science. Surveying has...
Texas law protects an owner of land from damage -- even insignificant damage -- caused by runoff of water from a neighboring property. Both compensatory damages and injunctive relief are available. A landowner is not, however, entitled to relief simply because...
ARE MULTIPLE LAWSUITS BETTER THAN ONE? An important component of litigation strategy in disputes involving multiple parties or multiple claims involves deciding which claims and parties to include in a lawsuit. By extension, that strategy decision includes...
WHAT IS AN EXPRESS EASEMENT? An easement is a non-possessory interest in another's property that authorizes the holder to use that property for a particular purpose. Marcus Cable Assocs., L.P. v. Krohn, 90 S.W.3d 697, 700 (Tex.2002).Notably, an easement does not...
Has a neighboring landowner caused water to divert onto your property resulting in flooding or other damage? Erection of dams, walls, fences, channels, berms, culverts, and culverts can change the natural flow of rainwater or water courses, resulting in destructive...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONjT3AnNWNM HAVE YOU RECEIVED A SCARY LAWYER LETTER? Have you received an aggressive lawyer from a lawyer accusing you of terrible acts and threatening horrific things unless you pay a sum of money? How did reading the letter make you...
THE MEANING OF AN “AS IS” AGREEMENT IN REAL ESTATE When buyers of real estate in Texas contract to buy a property "as is," they agree to make their own appraisal of the bargain and to accept the risk that they may be wrong. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Jefferson...
WHAT IS RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL? A Right of First Refusal or "ROFR" is a grant or covenant by a landowner to another of a preemptive or preferential right, to purchase the property on the same terms offered by or to a bona fide purchaser." Tenneco Inc. v. Enter. Prods....
UNDERSTANDING VENUE In the legal world the term "Venue" refers to the county in which a lawsuit is to be prosecuted. Venue and jurisdiction are related terms, but the concept of venue is more concerned with the locale of a lawsuit. Notably, the venue in which a case...
Right to Partition When Joint Owners of Real Property in Texas determine that they can no longer co-exist or "co-own" property, they may invoke the power of the Court to sever their ownership interests. The law will not force a reluctant joint owner of real property...
Anatomy of an Earnest Money Dispute Let’s face it, a large number of real estate contracts do not close. No matter how pure the intentions of the buyer and seller, many variables pose hazards to consummation of real estate deals. Some of the deal-killing factors are...
https://youtu.be/c6KFV5KMzR0 When you see it... I had the opportunity to visit the Leon County Courthouse in Centerville, Texas during November 2021. The courthouse was built in 1886, making it one of the oldest functioning courthouses in Texas. The restored district...
STATUTE OF FRAUDS - GENERAL RULE REQUIRES REAL ESTATE CONTRACTS TO BE WRITTEN AND SIGNED The general rule in Texas is that contracts for the sale of real estate must be in writing and signed by the parties in order to be enforceable. This notion, commonly known as...
Judgment Determining Catholic Archdiocese Was Unjustly Enriched by Improvements to its 978.6 acre Ranch Vitiated by Fourth Court of Appeals. In a July 2021 opinion, the Fourth Court of Appeals saved the Diocese of Corpus Christi from a $458,426.14 jury verdict. In...
On May 26, 2021, the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals issued its opinion in a case that explored the requirement that a real estate broker's commission agreement be written and signed. The opinion was authored by Justice Irene Rios in a case entitled Stephen W. Mabery...
Suits to enforce payment of real estate commissions generally turn on the presence or absence of a signed agreement providing for the commission. PLAIN LANGUAGE OF THE TEXAS REAL ESTATE LICENSE ACT The Texas Real Estate License Act ("RELA") statute of frauds provision...