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Mike and Molly Hatchell have been privileged to represent clients in cases of first impression or that have changed the direction of Texas law, like the following: |
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Despite a burgeoning use of expert testimony nationwide, until 1995 Texas had not adopted comprehensive standards for expert testimony. In Du Pont v. Robinson, Mike and Molly Hatchell with co-counsel Pamela Stanton Baron of Austin successfully urged the Supreme Court of Texas to adopt federal Daubert principles for the use of experts in Texas. |
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E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company v. Robinson, 923 S.W.2d 549 (Tex. 1995).
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Although Texas' antitrust statute is modeled on federal law, prior to Caller-Times v. Triad, no Texas court had ruled in a "predatory pricing" case. The Supreme Court sustained arguments by Mike Hatchell and co-counsel, Jorge Rangel of Corpus Christi, asking the Court to adopt strict standards for such claims that in some instances exceed federal standards on the subject. |
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Caller-Times Publishing Co. v. Triad Communications, 826 S.W.2d 576 (Tex. 1992).
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Because of limited jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of Texas has had little opportunity to write on class action practice despite a litigation explosion in the use of the device. In Intratex v. Beeson, Mike and Molly Hatchell joined with co-counsel Carrin Patman of Houston in successfully urging the Court to follow federal rules that forbid certification of a class defined by the ultimate legal issue. |
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Intratex v. Beeson, 22 S.W.3d 398 (Tex. 2000).
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Texas courts have grappled with tort liability of owners and occupiers of land for injury due to third-party criminal activity. In a seminal case on this subject, Mike Hatchell persuaded the Court to adopt rules that define the type of "control" necessary for a lessor of property to be held liable for injury to a lessee's employee from criminal activity. |
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Exxon Corp. v. Tidwell, 867 S.W.2d 19 (Tex. 1993).
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Water resources are important to an agricultural state like Texas, and the Texas legislature and its cities have passed far-reaching statutes and ordinances to conserve water. Mike Hatchell joined an appellate team that sustained an Austin, Texas, ordinance regulating development within the important Edwards Aquifer. |
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City of Austin v. Quick, 7 S.W.3d 109 (Tex. 1998).
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Concerned that remedies for alleged breach of fiduciary duties by attorneys should be clear and certain, Mike and Molly Hatchell teamed with Prof. William V. Dorsaneo of the Southern Methodist University School of Law in Burrow v. Arce to persuade the Supreme Court to adopt guidelines for forfeiture of legal fees when attorneys are alleged to have committed serious breaches of the attorney/client relationship. |
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Burrow v. Arce, 997 S.W.2d 229 (Tex. 1999).
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Oil and gas law is important to Texas, and "top leasing" is a well-known practice within that industry. In a case cited in most textbooks and courses on the subject, the Supreme Court sustained Mike Hatchell's argument that declared a "top lease" void as a perpetuity. |
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Peveto v. Starkey, 645 S.W.2d 770 (Tex. 1982).
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Copyright 2001 Hatchell PC | All Rights Reserved | Disclaimer |
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