May 3, 2016 in Case Summaries

Jeff Levinger successfully represented the City of McKinney in its appeal of a judgment of over $9,000,000 stemming from a developer’s claim that the City had committed an “inverse condemnation” by violating a restriction in a deed. In its 2009 lawsuit, Eldorado Land Company contended that the City’s construction of a library on a portion of a 32 acre tract that Eldorado had conveyed to the City for use as a community park violated the deed restriction, which provided that the property could be used only as a “park and recreational facility.” The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of El Dorado on the liability issue, and a jury assessed damages of over $7,500,000 (exclusive of interest), representing the difference in the property’s value with and without its deed and zoning restrictions. In reversing the summary judgment on liability and rendering a take-nothing in favor of the City, the Court of Appeals held that the City’s community library fit squarely within the “plain, ordinary, and generally accepted meaning” of a park and recreational facility, and thus did not violate the restriction in the deed. City of McKinney v. Eldorado Land Co., LP, No. 05-15-00067-CV, 2016 WL 2349371 (Tex. App.-Dallas May 3, 2016, pet. denied).

Courts:Supreme Court of Texas, Texas Intermediate Appellate Courts
Subject Matter: Business Litigation, Oil & Gas/Real Estate

March 14, 2016 in Case Summaries

Working closely with trial counsel from the Houston firm of Abraham Watkins, Jeff Levinger first persuaded the trial court to reconsider its dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the parents of a brain-damaged infant, and then convinced the Dallas Court of Appeals to uphold the trial court’s determination on rehearing that one of the two defendants is not a “health care provider” entitled to the protections of Chapter 74 of the Texas Medical Liability Act. In a thorough analysis of the Texas statutes and regulations governing Lutheran Social Services of the South  a child-placing agency that had placed the child with foster parents before the injury-causing incident  the Court held that LSSS had not met its burden of proving that it was “licensed, certified, registered, or chartered by the State of Texas to provide health care.” Meanwhile, the case against the second defendant, a home nursing company, is proceeding in the trial court, after Levinger also persuaded it to reconsider its previous ruling that the plaintiffs’ expert reports were inadequate under Chapter 74. Lutheran Social Services of the South, Inc. v. Blount, No. 05-15-00380-CV, 2016 WL 1019191 (Tex. App.-Dallas Mar. 14, 2016, pet. denied).

Courts: Texas Intermediate Appellate Courts
Subject Matter: Products Liability & Personal Injury

April 29, 2015 in Case Summaries

Joined by appellate lawyer Carl Cecere and trial lawyer Steve Goldston, Jeff Levinger represented Inwood National Bank in its appeal of an adverse judgment in a complex, high-dollar garnishment proceeding. Although Inwood held a perfected security interest in a large investment account owned by one of its borrowers, the trial court concluded that Inwood’s security interest was subordinate to Wells Fargo’s later judgment lien against the same borrower. Addressing an issue of first impression in Texas concerning the meaning of UCC § 9.323(b), the Dallas Court of Appeals agreed with Inwood’s argument that it had taken no actions to compromise its prior, perfected security interest. Accordingly, the court dissolved Wells Fargo’s writ of garnishment and restored Inwood’s security interest in the investment account. Inwood National Bank v. Wells Fargo Bank, 463 S.W.3d 228 (Tex. App. ‑‑ Dallas 2015, no pet.).

Courts: Texas Intermediate Appellate Courts
Subject Matter: Business Litigation

February 27, 2015 in Case Summaries

Just three weeks after hearing oral argument, the Dallas Court of Appeals reversed a trial court order appointing a receiver to liquidate valuable assets of a partnership jointly owned by Levinger PC client Steven Spiritas. The other owner, Susan Davidoff, had asked the trial court to order the receivership, claiming that a deadlock between herself and Spiritas required the partnership assets to be immediately sold. Spiritas secured a stay of the order, and then successfully argued to the court of appeals that the appointment of the receiver was not authorized under the Texas Business Organizations Code because there was no evidence that any irreparable injury was occurring or threatened. Spiritas v. Davidoff, 459 S.W.3d 224 (Tex. App. ‑‑ Dallas 2015, no pet.).

Courts: Texas Intermediate Appellate Courts
Subject Matter: Business Litigation, Oil & Gas/Real Estate

June 25, 2014 in Case Summaries

After two appeals to the Dallas Court of Appeals, Levinger PC clients Hampden Corporation and Fantasy Diamond Corporation won the complete reversal of a $750,000 judgment against them for the alleged breach of a commission agreement with one of their sales representatives. The court of appeals held that the commission agreement was modified by an enforceable agreement to pay the sales representative on a monthly retainer basis, and that Hampden and Fantasy Diamond were entitled to terminate the modified agreement at any time. The opinion ended nearly seven years of litigation between the parties. Hampden Corp. v. Remark, Inc., No. 05‑13‑00529‑CV, 2014 WL 2921655 (Tex. App. ‑‑ Dallas June 25, 2014, pet. denied).

Courts: Texas intermediate Appellate Courts
Subject Matter: Labor & Employment