Dallas Austin

Commercial General Liability (“CGL”) insurance policies are the backbone to any contractor’s risk management plan.  One endorsement with a significantly reduced sublimit that is finding its way into more CGL policies issued in Texas is worth a closer look and careful monitoring. Several CGL insurers have begun including endorsements that make coverage subject to having lower tier subcontractors fulfill certain insurance requirements.  In one such endorsement that we recently reviewed for a general contractor, the following subcontractor insurance requirements were listed as conditions

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, whose jurisdiction includes all of Texas, recently broadened the types of employment discrimination claims that may be brought under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.  In so doing, it overturned nearly 50 years of precedent. In Hamilton v Dallas County, nine female detention officers filed suit against Dallas County Sherriff’s Office for violations of Title VII and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA). Relying on Title VII’s anti-discrimination provision, the female officers claimed that the county had “engaged

In the age of artificial intelligence and expanding technology, the advancements are endless, but does AI have the capacity to practice law? The apparent answer is no, at least not without exhaustive checking by an attorney. On June 22, 2023, a Federal District Judge in New York sanctioned two attorneys and their law firm, jointly, because one attorney, who was not licensed to practice law in the New York Federal Court, relied on responses from ChatGPT with made-up case law and citations in preparing his response to a motion to dismiss, and the other attorney, who was licensed to practice in t

The Corpus Christi Court of Appeals recently held that a family’s allegations against a funeral home for its handling of a relative’s body were subject to arbitration, even though some of the family members were not parties to the agreement to arbitrate. After her mother passed away, Anabel Gonzalez entered into a contract with SCI Funeral Services, LLC d/b/a Funeraria del Angel (SCI) for visitation and embalmment services. The contract contained a mandatory arbitration provision. According to Anabel and her family members, her mother’s eye and mouth opened, leaking fluid, during a visit

In October 2019, Plaintiff Shannon Phillips (“Phillips”) filed suit in federal court against Starbucks Corporation d/b/a Starbucks Coffee Company (“Starbucks”), alleging she was fired because she is Caucasian in a position of authority in the wake of the April 12, 2018, arrests of Donte Robinson (“Robinson”) and Rashon Nelson (“Nelson”) at a Starbucks located on 18th and Spruce Streets in Philadelphia. Phillips sued Starbucks on racial bias claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and New Jersey law, seeking economic loss and compensatory and punitive damages. Phillips ha