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Meet the team: Deanne Schmidt

What makes our team so outstanding? Their know-how, expertise and willingness to subject themselves to a light-hearted Q&A. Meet Deanne Schmidt, Case Manager, a part of the Curnutt & Hafer team since 2000.

C&H:  What was your very first job?

DS:  When I was in Junior High, my parents owned the Sears catalog retail store in Ballinger, Texas. On Saturdays, I worked for my dad in the store for 35 cents an hour. In addition, my grandparents owned the Hillcrest Drive-In, and I worked in the concession stand for Grandmother on Saturday nights for a salary of $5.00. This is when I decided that working for non-family would pay much better.

C&H:  If you could invite four people to a dinner party (non-family, living or deceased), who would they be?

DS:  Since I am an avid reader and love historical fiction, it’s natural that I would pick four people that have fascinated me with their extraordinary lives. First, Margaret Mitchell wrote my favorite book of all time – Gone With The Wind. In fact, I read it at least every other year. I would love to ask about her research as well as how her life changed after the publishing of the book and the movie. 

During my studies at UT Arlington, I took the requisite history research class and chose to write on how women tamed Texas. Margaret Lea Houston and Harriet Potter Ames are two of the women that caught my attention. Who wouldn’t want to sit and talk to both of these women who lived in a wild and daring time for the State of Texas. They both married notorious men who were not the best marriage material to put it delicately, but these women made homes in conditions that are unthinkable today.  

On a side note, Mrs. Ames is the subject of an early Texas community property case decided by the Supreme Court of Texas in 1875. 

The fourth person was a little harder to decide. I marked out several British royals including Elizabeth I and Victoria I. And despite my fascination with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for many reasons -- including the fact that I always wanted to be an editor -- I chose her sister-in-law, Ethel Kennedy. I saw a documentary on Ethel Kennedy by her daughter, Rory Kennedy. I know that it was probably a little slanted toward the best of her life, however, I believe she would be a wonderful addition to my dinner party.

C&H:  Do you have any family members who also have careers in the legal profession? If so, who are they and what do they do?

DS:  Carolyn Little, my mother, has been the Municipal Court Judge for Ballinger, Texas for the last eleven years.

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What makes the team at Curnutt and Hafer so outstanding? Their know-how, expertise and willingness to subject themselves to a light-hearted Q&A.

Adam Alexander, associate. With our team since 2012.

Q: What was your very first job? A: I grew up in a small tourist town in Colorado and I had my first summer job when I was very young. I rode my bike across town all summer to work at a small fishing shop helping visitors catch rainbow trout in a stocked pond. I didn’t make much money that summer (and I smelled like fish every day), but they let me go fly fishing in the evenings after work so I had no complaints.

Q: If you could invite four people to a dinner party (non-family), who would they be? A: I have always been an avid outdoorsman, and I think Aldo Leopold and President Roosevelt would be at the top of my list. I imagine I would be entertained for days talking about the outdoors with those two. The next person on my list would probably be Justice Byron White, although not for the reasons you might expect from a lawyer. Although White’s legal career is interesting, I have always admired him more for his life before he became a Supreme Court Justice. White was the first All-American football player at my alma mater, and his childhood was an interesting underdog story growing up a poor beet farmer in Colorado and becoming a scholar and star athlete. I would love to hear his stories of the early days of Colorado football. On that note, the last person on my list would probably be Coach Mike MacIntyre so I could pick his brain on the upcoming football season for my Colorado Buffaloes.

Q: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would play you? A: I like to think Sam Elliott would play me in a movie about my life, but I might be taking myself too seriously. It could just as easily be someone like Nick Offerman.

Read more about Adam and our team at http://curnutthafer.com/who-we-are

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CURNUTT & HAFER WINS APPEALS COURT VICTORY, AFFIRMING JURY VERDICT FOR CLIENTS

Recently, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a trial court’s jury verdict and judgment obtained for clients of Curnutt & Hafer, L.L.P. in a nursing home death case.

Lead counsel and firm partner Kelly Curnutt commented on the victory: “The jury recognized a track record of elder patient neglect by the nursing home’s management, and we applaud the appellate court for vindicating the jury’s verdict.”

Business trial lawyers Kelly Curnutt and Doug Hafer are both Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Read more: http://curnutthafer.com/curnutt-hafer-wins-appeals-court-victory-affirming-jury-verdict-for-clients

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Curnutt & Hafer welcomes new associate

Curnutt & Hafer is pleased to welcome Jamie M. Lacy as our newest associate. Jamie received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, graduating in the 10% of her class. She also holds an M.B.A. from the University of California, Riverside.

Preceding her experience with Greenberg & Weinmann in Santa Monica, Jamie externed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Her article The New Asset-Level Disclosure Requirement: How it Will Affect the ABS Marketin was published in the USC Business Law Advisor in May, 2015.

Read more: http://curnutthafer.com/curnutt-hafer-welcomes-new-associate 

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Appeals Court Victory Affirms Judgment for Curnutt & Hafer Client

In a unanimous opinion, the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment obtained by Curnutt & Hafer for a client involved in a construction accident lawsuit. Kelly Curnutt, who argued the case in both the trial court and the appellate court, summarized the rulings:

“The appellate court did an excellent job of analyzing a voluminous trial court record and articulating why the trial court correctly ruled in our client’s favor. The take-nothing judgment for our client on all the plaintiff’s claims was the right result.”

Read more Curnutt & Hafer news at http://curnutthafer.com/articles-of-interest 

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Arbitration may not be all it's cracked up to be

In Hoskins v. Hoskins, the Texas Supreme Court strictly enforced the Texas Arbitration Act (“TAA”) by ruling that courts cannot vacate an award based on an arbitrator’s “manifest disregard” of the law. In this regard, the Texas high court held that the vacatur grounds listed in the TAA are the only way to get an arbitrator’s ruling tossed — and manifest disregard isn’t listed in the TAA.

The issue in Hoskins was whether a party seeking to vacate an arbitration award under the Texas Arbitration Act could invoke extra statutory, common law vacatur grounds to avoid an erroneous arbitration award. The TAA allows a trial court to vacate an award for three main reasons: (1) if an award was obtained by fraud or corruption; (2) if a party’s rights were prejudiced by an arbitrator’s evident partiality, corruption, or misconduct; or (3) if the arbitrator exceeded his powers. See §171.088 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code.

Curnutt & Hafer delves further into the implications at:

http://curnutthafer.com/arbitration-may-not-be-all-its-cracked-up-to-be 

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TEXAS SUPREME COURT ISSUES TWO RULINGS ON ATTORNEYS’ FEES AWARDS

The Texas Supreme Court issued two rulings on April 15, 2016 that favored parties seeking attorney fees. In Sullivan v. Abraham, a First Amendment case, the Court examined the criteria for the award of attorneys’ fees under Texas’ anti-SLAPP law (“strategic lawsuit against public participation”), which requires mandatory awards of reasonable attorney fees and does not allow a court to reduce the amount for equity and justice.  The case is significant because the Texas Supreme Court takes great effort interpreting the statute authorizing attorneys’ fees. This opinion is a primer on the importance of language, grammar, and punctuation when considering a statute. Applying these rules, the Court ruled that the law's language and punctuation mean reasonable attorney fees are awarded to the winner of a motion to dismiss without consideration of factors such as justice and equity.

In Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control v. City of San Antonio, the Texas Supreme Court found that a city does not have governmental immunity from an attorney fee claim dealing with the activities of a city-owned public utility company.  Immunity would apply if the case arose from the city's governmental function, but not if it arose from the city's proprietary function.  The Texas Supreme Court has distinguished between those functions and acts performed as a branch of the state, and those performed in a proprietary, non-governmental capacity.  Under Texas law, a governmental act or function are those things done as a branch of the state—such as when a city exercises powers conferred on it for purposes essentially public pertaining to the administration of general laws made to enforce the general policy of the state. An example would be “garbage and solid waste removal, collection and disposal.”  Proprietary functions are those functions performed by a city, in its discretion, primarily for the benefit of those within the corporate limits of the municipality.  The operation of a public utility by the city was found to be proprietary under Texas law and did not give the city immunity.

Douglas R. Hafer Business Trial Lawyer, Curnutt & Hafer, LLP

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The time for Curnutt and Hafer to defend our Championship Title 

~Best Tasting Non-Traditional Chili~ is almost here! Don't miss 5th Annual Chili Cook-Off Benefiting Legal Aid of Northwest Texas Lawyers cookin' and Judges judgin'! Saturday, 10.24.15 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. 601 E. Main St. Arlington, TX 76010

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SAVE THE DATE 

for the  5th Annual Chili Cook-Off

Benefiting Legal Aid of Northwest Texas

Lawyers cookin' and Judges judgin'!

Saturday, 10.24.15 from 1:00-4:00 p.m.

601 E. Main St. Arlington, TX 76010

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Kelly Curnutt appointed Interim President of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce

Last month, firm partner Kelly Curnutt was appointed Interim President and CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. While he reiterated the position is only temporary, and that he also continues to represent clients of the firm, Mr. Curnutt is motivated about the new position: “I was pleased to accept the Board's request to step in as Interim President and CEO of our Chamber.  Like everyone in the Chamber, I love and am committed to Arlington's future and success.  As a product and proud alumnus of the Arlington ISD and UTA, I am blessed along with my wife to have grown up in Arlington, raised our families here, and worked and built our businesses here.  For these reasons, I am committed to pursue the success of the Chamber, and in turn our city's success through the Chamber.”

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~WELCOME TO THE FIRM~ Firm Spotlight

WILLIAM E. CLARK JR. Associate

Education: Texas A&M University School of Law, Fort Worth, Texas, 2015 J.D. Honors: Top 10% The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas 2010 B.A. Major: Political Science Areas of Practice: Business Litigation Oil and Gas Litigation Franchise Litigation Personal Injury

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LOGAN SIMMONS HIRED BY FORT WORTH COURT OF APPEALS

Curnutt & Hafer, LLP is proud to announce that Senior Associate Attorney Logan Simmons was recently hired by the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth, Texas. He will work as Staff Attorney for Justice Sue Walker. The firm will miss Logan but knows that he will serve the Court and the State of Texas well in his new role. ‪#‎BusinessTrialLawyers‬ www.CurnuttHafer.com

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“Curnutt & Hafer Wins Appeal for Oil and Gas Client”

This week the 10th Court of Appeals issued a unanimous opinion for the firm’s client, Devon Energy, reversing a trial court order and rendering a take nothing judgment for the client.  Kelly Curnutt and Adam Alexander successfully argued for the firm that the trial court abused its discretion by entering a permanent injunction requiring Devon Energy to secure entry to the disputed property against criminal acts of unknown third parties.  The Court of Appeals ultimately ruled in favor of the firm’s client, holding that the evidence presented at trial was not sufficient to support a permanent injunction against the company.

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Look who got his wings...

Curnutt and Hafer would like to congratulate Riley Curnutt. We are very proud of you! https://vimeo.com/134986902 www.curnutthafer.com

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If your organization is looking for entertaining speakers, one of our founding partners, Kelly Curnutt, would be happy to help. He gives an interesting PowerPoint presentation entitled “Ten Ways to Avoid a Lawsuit, from a Business Trial Lawyer’s Perspective,” which can be adjusted in length from 20-40 minutes, depending upon your organization’s desires. Contact: Media@curnutthafer.com ‪# ‎BusinessTrialLawyers‬

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Hafer Blog:

Obamacare: Did the Supreme Court get it wrong?  You be the judge.

              In King v. Burwell, the Supreme Court upheld a provision of the Affordable Care Act making subsidies available for all, whether they used a state or federal exchange. The ruling also affirms the mandate that employers may be subject to potential penalties with respect to the granting of subsidies or tax credits. But, did the court correctly interpret the statute?

           At issue was the phrase: “an Exchange established by the State under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The question was whether these words meant taxpayers would receive a credit only if they used an exchange set up by an individual state or did the statute also include Federal exchanges.

           There are well known and established rules used in reading statutes and contracts. Typically when interpreting the wording of a contract or statute, there are five canons to keep in mind. The first and most obvious interpretation canon is the ordinary-meaning canon that dictates words are to be understood in their ordinary, everyday meanings unless the context indicates that they bear a technical sense. There is also the negative-implication canon that is the expression of one thing implies the exclusion of others.

           Also, statutes can be interpreted through the last-antecedent canon, meaning a pronoun, relative pronoun, or demonstrative adjective generally refers to the nearest reasonable antecedent. An important principle is the surplusage canon which means if possible, every word and every provision is to be given effect. None should needlessly be given an interpretation that causes it to duplicate another provision or to have no consequence. Lastly, there is the associated-word canon which simply means words bear on one another’s meaning.

           These canons are important because they provide predictability as to how what was drafted will be interpreted.  Now, with these canons in your statutory interpretation arsenal, you can be the judge as to whether the Supreme Court correctly interpreted the Obamacare statute.

 By: Douglas R. Hafer Business Trial Lawyer | Curnutt & Hafer, LLP 817.548.1000 | www.CurnuttHafer.com

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Hafer Blog:

Bicycle safety laws may finally be taken up in Texas during the next legislative session:

           Millions of Texans are bicycle enthusiasts, and it is hard for them to find places to ride safely. Unfortunately every year, hundreds of bicyclists are injured or killed while riding on Texas’s streets and highways. Positive changes to the law may be on the way for Texas’s bicyclists during the 85th legislative session.

           There were several proposals in the 84th legislative session focused on bicycle riders’ safety. that were particularly interesting. House Bill 2459 would give bicyclists more room when a vehicle passes, and provides a criminal sanction against drivers who don’t give bicyclists the proper amount of room. House Bill 471 would require nighttime riders to have lamps on their bikes that shine a steady or flashing light, and House Bill 80 would ban texting while driving throughout the state (a distracted driver is even more dangerous to a bicyclist).  By the end of the 84th legislative session, all three of these bills passed a House vote. The Bills were passed to the Senate Committee where were left pending.

           It will be interesting to see if the proposals in House Bills 2459, 471, and 80 are brought up again during the 85th legislative session. It will also be interesting to watch whether new proposals are introduced to change Texas’s laws regarding bicyclists’ safety.

In the meantime, I hope all motorists are aware of people on bikes.  We are all busy, but getting somewhere just a little faster is not worth the serious injury or death of a fellow Texan.  For those on bikes, please always wear a helmet while riding, and wear bright colored clothing to make you more visible to traffic. Be sure also to have plenty of reflective material on you and your bicycle.

 By: Douglas R. Hafer (sometime bicyclist) Business Trial Lawyer | Curnutt & Hafer, LLP 817.548.1000 | www.CurnuttHafer.com