In this employment dispute, Karen D’Onofrio sued her former employer,
Vacations to Go (“VTG” or “Vacation”), a division of Vacation Publications, Inc.,
the largest seller of ocean-going cruises in the world, for interfering with her
rights under the Family Medical Leave Act. Vacation counter sued, alleging
that Karen and her husband, Michael D’Onofrio, breached Karen’s covenant
... More...   $0 (04-24-2018 - TX)

As set out above, Dunan was charged with robbing Brodhead. During the trial,
Brodhead, Dunan, and Dr. John Fabian were called to the stand to testify. In addition, various audio
and video recordings were admitted into evidence and played for the district court.
After being called to the stand to discuss the events in question, Brodhead explained
that she saw Dunan in the parking ... More...   $0 (04-24-2018 - TX)

Sapp lived with his common-law wife Priscilla2 and their three daughters:
Emily, who was seven years old; Brooke, who was six years old; and Allison,
who was five years old. While attending church, Sapp and Priscilla met a
nineteen-year-old woman named Dusti who told them that she was having some
problems at home, and they allowed her to move in with them.
Shortly afte... More...   $0 (04-24-2018 - TX)

Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence so we will mention
only so much of the background facts as necessary for our disposition of his issues. On
February 12, 2015, appellant and Tianna Insall robbed the A1 Smoke Shop in rural
Tarrant County. They wore dark glasses and bandannas. Appellant carried what the two
store employees called “a gun.” Once insid... More...   $0 (04-19-2018 - TX)

The State’s first witness was Starr County Sheriff’s Officer Justin Falcon. Officer Falcon
testified that he was working in the jail, on December 24, 2014, when he received a call from
Justice of the Peace Salvador Zarate Jr. instructing him to reduce the bonds for both Daisy Rich
and Harry Rich from $30,000.00 each to $5,000.00 each. Officer Falcon explained that although
it... More...   $0 (04-19-2018 - TX)

Appellant Samuel Hal Wade was placed on deferred adjudication community
supervision after he pled guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child for sexual
abuse perpetrated against his two biological daughters. See Tex. Penal Code § 22.021(a)(1)(B),
(2)(B); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 42A.101. Subsequently, the trial court granted the State’s 1
motions to adjudica... More...   $0 (04-18-2018 - TX)

In February 2011, Appellant was the father to two young children, a thirteen
month-old girl and a one-month-old girl. During that month, Appellant’s wife had
to leave town for work. A friend agreed to care for the infant while the wife was
away. The wife’s work trip got extended. The friend caring for the infant had to
return her to Appellant because the friend also had to g... More...   $0 (04-18-2018 - TX)

This is an appeal from a reformed decree of divorce and property division rendered after a bench trial. In his first, second, and third issues, appellant, Troy Lee Christensen, argues that the trial court abused its discretion by dividing the marital property between appellee, Christina Christensen, and himself because the division
2
was not a fair and equitable apportionment of the commun... More...   $0 (04-12-2018 - TX)

Appellant, Cheryl Currid, appeals from the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of appellee, Coit Cleaning and Restoration Services (“Coit”), on Coit’s suit on a sworn account1 and alternative claims for breach of contract, quantum meruit, and
1 See TEX. R. CIV. P. 185.
2
unjust enrichment. In two issues, Currid contends that the trial court erred in not compelling the parties to ar... More...   $0 (04-17-2018 - TX)

Robert Alan Hawkins was charged by indictment with the offense of retaliation. The
Honorable Eddie Northcutt, trial judge for the 8th Judicial District Court, was named as the victim
in the case. He also impaneled the grand jury that returned the indictment against Hawkins.
Following a jury trial, Hawkins was found guilty of the charged offense and sentenced to five
years’ i... More...   $0 (04-15-2018 - TX)

Adrian Jerome Parker rendered his open guilty plea to the trial court in Gregg County, on
all four counts of the indictment against him, and pled true to a sentence-enhancement allegation.
The trial court found Parker guilty of all four charges, found the enhancement allegation true, and
sentenced Parker to forty-five years’ imprisonment on each of Count I (engaging in organized More...   $0 (04-15-2018 - TX)

Appellant was arrested on October 18, 2014, for misdemeanor driving while
intoxicated. The following day, appellant requested a court-appointed attorney and provided an
affidavit of indigence. On the form affidavit, appellant swore that he was “self employed (side
jobs),” that his monthly income was $600, and that he had “available” cash of $500 and $1,200, and
that he had “$4,00... More...   $0 (04-14-2018 - TX)

Margie Wurm stored several items in a unit of a U-Haul storage building in Smith County, Texas. Wurm installed a padlock on the door of her unit to protect her belongings. UHaul monitored the area through the use of both staff and video. Wurm did not provide consent to anyone to enter her unit or to take her belongings from it. Despite these precautions, someone broke into Wurm’s storage unit... More...   $0 (04-12-2018 - TX)

On June 28, 2016, Tyler Police Department Officer Ben Jordan, while on patrol, observed a vehicle with an expired registration sticker and initiated a traffic stop. Appellant was the owner and driver of the vehicle. Brenton Coe was the passenger. Officer Jordan noticed that Appellant and Coe acted nervously, and asked Appellant for consent to search the vehicle, to which Appellant replied in th... More...   $0 (04-12-2018 - TX)

Mystee Lynn Jackson pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance,
methamphetamine, under one gram. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.115(b)
(West 2017). An adjudication of guilt was deferred and Jackson was placed on
community supervision for three years. Pursuant to a motion to proceed with
adjudication, Jackson’s community supervision was revoked and Jackson ... More...   $0 (04-12-2018 - TX)

In his first issue, Ruiz contends that the trial court abused its discretion by denying
his motion for continuance “sought due to the State belatedly providing a wealth of
information concerning the charged offense and various extraneous offenses allegedly
committed by Ruiz.” We disagree.
Where denial of a continuance has resulted in representation by counsel who was not prepa... More...   $0 (04-12-2018 - TX)

On May 23, 2015, complainant Francisco Capetillo-Medina was shot to death in broad daylight in front of a convenience store. Investigating officers were able to obtain surveillance video of the shooting, but the investigation stalled until investigators received a Crime Stoppers tip implicating appellant. Appellant was subsequently charged with the offense of murder pursuant to section 19.02 of ... More...   $0 (04-10-2018 - TX)

In November 2012, Joyner was indicted for capital murder after he and two
other men stole drugs and, in the course of the robbery, murdered one of the drug
sellers. In September 2014, Joyner pleaded guilty in exchange for the State reducing
his charge to the lesser-included offense of aggravated robbery. The plea agreement
also stated:
The defendant agrees that he will tes... More...   $0 (04-10-2018 - TX)

The evidence at trial showed that appellant, her husband, John, and their five children,
Ashley, Byran, J.D., Cassie, and Ezra, moved from Georgia to Burnet, Texas, where John was pastor
of a local church. According to the testimony of J.D. and Cassie, after the family moved to the 1
parsonage, appellant and John began sexually abusing their two youngest daughters. The daughters’
... More...   $0 (04-07-2018 - TX)

On March 20, 2014, Corpus Christi Police Officer Michael Goodman responded to
the area near the Corpus Christi Country Club to help investigate a report regarding a
suspicious person. Officer Goodman testified that he saw a male, Magill, who matched
the description of the suspicious person and made contact. Officer Goodman stated that
he had no intention of arresting Magill, ... More...   $0 (04-05-2018 - TX)

Sarah Stephenson testified that on August 13, 2016, her husband and daughter
went fishing at a pond near Auger Road, a narrow dirt road in Ellis County, Texas.
Her husband then called Stephenson to tell her that a car was “out there” “in the
middle of nowhere” and he was scared to walk passed it with their daughter.
Stephenson told her husband to call for emergency assistance... More...   $0 (04-05-2018 - TX)

Dallas, TX - Jury Awards Plaintiffs $9 Billion

Stephen Hopper and Laura Wassmer sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. on breach of fiduciary duty theories claiming that JPMorgan mismanaged the estate of Max Hopper, a former American Airlines executive.

JPMorgan denied wrongdoing.

Max Hopper was worth $19 million when he died.

The Plaintiff claimed that JPMorgna grossly mi... More...   $0 (03-30-2018 - TX)

In its indictment charging Mandola with the offense, the State alleged that:
On or about the 5th day of April, 2014, in Hays County, Texas, the Defendant, Damian Mandola, did then and there intentionally or knowingly threaten Jeffrey Ogle with imminent bodily injury and did then and there use or exhibit a deadly weapon, to-wit: a knife, and or a hammer or mallet, during the commission of said ... More...   $0 (03-30-2018 - TX)

As set out above, Waldron was charged with capital murder for the death of S.F.’s
unborn daughter. According to the undisputed evidence presented at trial, Waldron and S.F. were
romantically involved and were living together at the time of the offense, and S.F. was pregnant with
Waldron’s twin children. One of the twins was male, and the other was female. On the day after
the of... More...   $0 (03-30-2018 - TX)

In the early morning of May 2, 2010, Harris County police responded to
reports of a weapons disturbance in a rural neighborhood. Upon arriving at the scene,
they discovered that Kelly Danaher had been shot. Two men were struggling to hold
down Rodriguez, who had fired the shots. Everyone other than Rodriguez had been
at a party inside. Danaher, the host of the party, died at th... More...   $0 (03-24-2018 - TX)

On October 21, 2014, the complainant, Laura Arizpe, was at home around
noon with her son, Christian Ayala, and her fourteen-year-old adopted daughter,
Perla Izaguirre. Arizpe and Ayala were downstairs, while Izaguirre was asleep in
her bedroom upstairs. Ayala saw two men walking toward the front door while
putting gloves on. Because Ayala was on probation at the time and he ... More...   $0 (03-24-2018 - TX)

In this premises liability case, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) appeals a judgment on a jury verdict in favor of Brian Milton. In two issues, TxDOT contends the evidence is legally insufficient to prove it had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition and to prove it failed to adequately warn Milton. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.
On September 21, 2012, Milton was inju... More...   $0 (02-15-2018 - TX)

Victor Egly appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of
Farmers Insurance Exchange a/k/a Farmers Insurance (Farmers). In two issues, Egly contends that
the trial court erred in granting summary judgment because Farmers did not establish as a matter of
law that it had no duty to defend a suit brought by Egly against the driver of a vehicle insured by
Farmers... More...   $0 (02-15-2018 - TX)

Appellants/cross-appellees, Carto Properties, LLC, Jen Marie Rau, individually (“Rau”), Key Maps, Inc., and the Jen Marie Rau Life Insurance Trust (the “Trust”) (collectively, “Carto”), challenge the trial court’s rendition of summary judgment in favor of appellee/cross-appellant, Briar Capital, L.P. (“Briar”), in Carto’s suit against Briar for wrongful foreclosure, breach of contract, tortious in... More...   $0 (02-13-2018 - TX)

After wastewater pumps in their neighborhood failed during a heavy rainfall, four homeowners sued the pumping facility operator, alleging that the operator’s negligence caused wastewater to flood their homes. The trial court granted summary
2
judgment. The homeowners appeal, contending that they adduced evidence that raises a fact issue as to each element of their negligence claim. Because... More...   $0 (02-15-2018 - TX)

This appeal presents issues of personal jurisdiction and venue. A Texas citizen sued Ohio citizens in a Texas court based on two distinct claims: first, breach of a contract executed and performed in Ohio; and second, fraudulent misrepresentation made during a conference call from Ohio to Texas. The question thus before us is whether the Texas court may properly assert personal jurisdiction over t... More...   $0 (02-05-2018 - TX)

On or about October 16, 2015, Appellant was scheduled to meet Tiffany Pinkerton so that she could return his vehicle to him. Pinkerton had been borrowing the vehicle for several months after Appellant offered the vehicle to Pinkerton for traveling to and from work and taking their son to doctor’s appointments. He later asked her to return the vehicle. When Pinkerton arrived on October 16, she ex... More...   $0 (01-26-2018 - TX)

In August 2016, Defendant-Appellant Olga Murra was convicted by a jury
of two counts of forced labor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1589(a), and two counts
of harboring an illegal alien for profit, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)
and 1324(a)(1)(B)(i), based on conduct toward her half-sister Vania Rodriguez and
quasi–adopted family member Ingrid Guerrero. The district c... More...   $0 (01-15-2018 - TX)

A denial of habeas corpus relief is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard.
Ex parte Wheeler, 203 S.W.3d 317, 324 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006); Hernandez-Prado v. State,
No. 03-15-00290-CR, 2016 WL 3144113, at *4 (Tex. App.—Austin May 26, 2016, no pet.) (mem.
op., not designated for publication). A habeas court abuses its discretion, and the appellate court
will reverse the habe... More...   $0 (01-20-2018 - TX)

Madison was a long-time member of Pilgrim Valley Missionary Baptist
Church. Since 1970, the church was a beneficiary of the Pilgrim Valley Manor
Housing Trust, of which the principal asset was an apartment complex known as
Pilgrim Valley Manor Apartments. Around 2005, the Housing Trust had only one
active member—Velmeta Washington—on its board of trustees. Washington
ne... More...   $0 (01-20-2018 - TX)

Garland Police Officer Aaron Radney arrived at a Super 8 Motel looking for an unnamed
female on a matter unrelated to this case. After inquiring about the woman’s whereabouts, the
motel’s manager directed him to room 318 where he encountered Appellant James Brewer, who
answered the door. Officer Radney noticed that Appellant was holding a methamphetamine pipe
in his hand and ... More...   $0 (01-17-2018 - TX)

In his first issue, appellant contends the evidence is legally insufficient to prove he
committed cruelty to a nonlivestock animal. The information alleged appellant “intentionally,
knowingly, and recklessly caused bodily injury to an animal, to-wit: a dog by shooting the dog
with a pellet gun, without the effective consent of Roxanne Bogdan, the owner.” See TEX. PENAL
CODE A... More...   $0 (01-17-2018 - TX)

On August 4, 2014, L.P. and her two daughters, ten-year old E.P. and one-year old S.P.,
were walking to a supermarket in Dallas, Texas, when a small, red, four-door vehicle pulled up
next to them “very, very slowly, almost to a stopping point.” The driver was the only passenger
in the vehicle. E.P. was walking beside her mother, who was pushing S.P. in a stroller. E.P.
testi... More...   $0 (01-17-2018 - TX)

In his first issue, appellants contends he was not properly admonished concerning the range
of punishment he would face if he pleaded guilty. Before the plea hearing, appellant received
written admonishments, which recited that he was charged with a first degree felony with a
punishment range of “5-99 years or Life and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.00.” At the
hearing,... More...   $0 (01-16-2018 - TX)