SCOTX: Judge Per Curiam Hard At Work
Two opinions from The Hon. Justice Per Curiam today at the SCOTX:.jpg)
- Hidalgo v. Hidalgo applies a procedural mercy rule, to wit, when the SCOTX takes away your lead pipe cinch procedural argument while a case is pending, the CA ought to let you brief your substantive attacks on a judgment rather than finding them waived.
- Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool v. Sigmundik holds that a trial court cannot cut an insurer with a contractual right of subrogation out of a tort settlement by using a bench trial to allocate all the funds to other parties to the claim--here the surviving wife and child. The essence:
It was improper to cut the Risk Pool out of a settlement to which it, through the estate, has a valid claim, just as it would be an error to cut out any other estate creditor or recipient in this situation. As in all cases tried to the bench, the trial court was authorized to decide disputed issues of fact and law, see TEX. R. CIV. P. 262, however, a trial court abuses its discretion by failing to follow guiding rules and principles.
* * *
The Risk Pool provided extensive medical records and testimony to support both the expenses it requested and the damages suffered by Sigmundik; that evidence was uncontroverted. Even Sigmundik’s wife testified that his injuries—for which the Risk Pool could seek recovery—amounted to “[e]xceedingly more than” one million dollars. In short, there was evidence that the damages to Sigmundik exceeded the amount of the $800,000 settlement. There can be no doubt that all of the parties here—Sigmundik’s wife and children, but also Sigmundik himself (and thus his estate)—suffered substantial injuries. Trial-court discretion is not boundless and cannot insulate a decision to allocate none of the $800,000 settlement to Sigmundik when the court knew the facts surrounding his severe burns and trauma, his suffering and numerous surgeries, and his death 52 days later.
The Court also granted four petitions for review and indicated argument will be had on a pending petition for writ of mandamus, about which (hopefully) more later.
No conference is set next week so, alas, I guess there will not be a flood of new opinions for the poor sap who has to give the Supreme Court Update next week at the UTCLE Conference on State and Federal Appeals.
Welcome to the Appellate Record-- --the online community and virtual watering hole for appellate lawyers and anyone else who is comfortable with their inner law nerd.