The
Supreme Court issued 13 opinions on Friday, August 30. In addition to those discussed in individual
entries here on the blog, the following are among the court’s noteworthy
decisions:
Moncrief Oil International,
Inc. v. OAO Gazprom, No. 11-0195, Justice Guzman (Opinion). The court
found personal jurisdiction to be established for plaintiff’s claims for
misappropriation of trade secrets, but not its claims for tortious
interference, in a convoluted dispute between a Texas company and entities
based in Russia. In so doing, the court reinforced two tenets of specific
jurisdiction: (1) While tort liability may depend on a defendant’s
intent or state of mind, personal jurisdiction is predicated on the
defendant’s contacts with Texas, and the defendant’s intent is generally
irrelevant to jurisdiction; and (2) specific jurisdiction must be analyzed on a
claim-by-claim basis, such that a finding of specific jurisdiction over one
claim will not support jurisdiction over another, unless the same contacts
suffice for both.
Dugger
v. Arredondo, No. 11-0549, Justice Green
(Opinion). The court held that the
common-law “unlawful acts doctrine,” which precludes tort recovery if the
plaintiff engaged in an illegal act that contributed to his injury, is inconsistent
with Texas’s proportionate responsibility scheme and therefore is no longer a
valid defense.
Zanchi
v. Lane, No. 11-0826, Justice Lehrmann (Opinion). Holding that the word “party” in the Texas
Medical Liability Act includes a defendant that has been named in a lawsuit but
not yet served, the court concluded the plaintiff complied with the
expert-report requirement of the Act by sending his report to an unserved
defendant by certified mail within 120 days after filing suit.
Nathan v. Whittington, No. 12-0628, Per
Curiam. The court held that Texas Civil
Practice & Remedies Code § 16.064(a), which suspends the running of
limitations in certain circumstances in which a trial court dismiss a claim for
lack of jurisdiction, does not suspend the running of a statute of repose.
