Often parties dispute the arbitrability of a dispute, leading to the question of who has jurisdiction—the court or the arbitrator. Some may worry that the inclusion of an arbitration clause makes a dispute always arbitrable. However, the “law provides protection against rubberstamping the delegation of disputes to an arbitrator.” Cerna as Next Friend of R.W.
The Present and Ready Blog
Blog Authors
Latest from The Present and Ready Blog
Is history the best teacher?
As every lawyer knows, solid arguments are built on a combination of precedent and history—either urging the court to follow what it or other courts have done in the past, or to avoid prior decisions through distinction in the present application or context. Thus, in asking a court to engage in constitutional or statutory interpretation,…
“Tragic magic” or relief from your grief?
“[W]e kind of do have a reputation around here for being sticklers for the rules,” a Dallas County district judge quipped when denying a motion for leave to file a late summary judgment response. See Verhalen v. Akhtar, — S.W.3d —, No. 23-0885, 2024 WL 4394980, at *1 (Tex. Oct. 4, 2024). The judge chalked…
What’s it to you?
“As Justice Scalia memorably said, Article III requires a plaintiff to first answer a basic question: ‘What’s it to you?’” Food & Drug Admin. v. All. For Hippocratic Med., 602 U.S. 367, 379 (2024) (quoting A. Scalia, The Doctrine of Standing as an Essential Element of the Separation of Powers, 17 Suffolk U.L. Rev. 881,…
Texas Standards for Appellate Conduct?
“Lawyers are an indispensable part of the pursuit of justice.”
The rarely cited Standards of Conduct for the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure—found in the TRAP following Section Five—begins with this statement. The Standards explain that:
The appellate lawyer’s role is to present the law controlling the disposition of a case in a manner that…
Does Oral Argument ever make a difference?
“But your client breached the agreement!” – declared a Fifth Circuit Judge while pounding a fist with each word.
“Respectfully, your honor, there never was an agreement for my client to breach.”
It was one of those moments that gave me flashbacks to those heated law school moot court practices that were aimed at preparing…
Mother May I?
After even a few years of practice, most attorneys have experienced that case that really should only reach a trial after a preliminary legal issue is decided. It just seems that the expense and time for trial is wasteful if ultimately, the controlling issue on appeal is the preliminary question before ever touching on the…
The K.I.S.S. Method?
Recently, the Supreme Court of Texas released the final version for amendments to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, namely Rule 53.2-.3, which provides the required contents of a petition for review and response to a petition for review. The Court added a new mandatory requirement that parties must include an introduction section.…
Don’t be the case with a broken record.
There’s a certain excitement as a trial lawyer when your witness is on the stand, effectively using an exhibit to lay out your case. You can see the jury leaning in, the judge looking over, and know that they are fully engaged.
The problem is that the courtroom magic doesn’t always translate into a cold…
Avoiding Snares and Pitfalls in Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law
Findings of fact and conclusions of law (“FFCL”) play a crucial role in error preservation following a bench trial. This post addresses some of the procedural snares and substantive traps that continue to catch skilled attorneys.…