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What is the status of the Federal Trade Commission’s recent rule banning non-compete agreements as unfair competition? The United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently set aside the rule, preventing the rule from taking effect. As reported in a prior article, Ryan, Inc. and the US Chamber of Commerce filed suit to prevent the FTC’s non-compete ban from taking effect. On July 3, 2024, the Court granted a temporary injunction to prevent the rule from going into effect. On August 20, 2024, the Court granted Ryan’s and the US Chamber’s (now an intervenor in Ryan

Surety bonds are an important cog in the construction industry machine, but a topic rife with complexities. Put plainly, a surety bond, whether a payment bond, performance bond, release of lien bond, or appeal bond, generally refers to a three-party relationship that includes a (1) principal (who is purchasing the surety bond to make sure of a performance of an obligation); (2) obligee (who is the party requiring or requesting the bond); and (3) the surety (who is issuing the bond, guaranteeing the principal’s obligations/performance, and if the principal fails to perform, step in to fulfill

Although property owners’ associations maintain a large amount of control over the choices homeowners make for their property and the structures owners build on their property, the Texas Legislature recently limited that control. On June 15, 2021, Texas Property Code §202.023 came into effect. This statute limits the power of property owners’ associations to prevent owners from building or installing security measures on their property. Specifically, the statute states: A property owners’ association may not adopt or enforce a restrictive covenant that prevents a property owner from

On September 1, 2024, the Texas Business Court and Fifteenth Court of Appeals, created by the Texas Legislature will begin hearing cases.  The purpose of the new Business Courts was to provide specialized venue for commercial disputes presided over by judges experienced in commercial disputes. Reviewing the structure and function of the Texas Business Court may assist in deciding whether a case is appropriate to be moved to these Courts. The Business Courts are divided into eleven regions but only 5 of the Districts currently have judges appointed.  Those regions are in the First, Third, Fo

On July 19, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) voluntarily dismissed a pending appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, effectively capitulating enforcement of its 2023 ‘joint-employer rule’. The joint employer rule is used to determine whether an employee has multiple employers. The National Labor Relations Act governs labor relations between employers and employees. It assists in determining and evaluating the employer-employee relationship and depending on the circumstances who governs the actions as an employee. This determination also allows

The building shell for a privately owned airplane hangar in Boise, Idaho was supposed to be completed by January 31, 2024. Instead, the hangar collapsed, killing three and injuring several others. The owner of the general contractor for the project, Big D Builders (BDB), was decapitated in the collapse. Two BDB employees, who were on a manlift hoisted 40 feet in the air installing bolts to secure the building rafters at the time of the collapse, were also killed. On July 9, 2024, the families of the deceased workers filed a wrongful death lawsuit against BDB and three other construction compan

The Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals recently agreed that a claim brought by a former sea captain, Marek Matthews, against his former employers, Tidewater Crewing, Ltd. and Tidewater Inc. (collectively, Tidewater), for alleged exposure to toxic chemicals should be litigated in England, not the US. How did this happen? Matthews, a Florida resident, initially brought suit in Louisiana State Court, but the case was removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Tidewater then moved to dismiss the case on the basis of inconvenient location, or forum non conveni