Tim Hootman
Texas Appellate Attorney
2402 Pease Street
Houston, Texas 77003

Tel: 713.247.9548
Cell: 713.366.6229
 

Texas Appeals Citations

Timothy Hootman, Appellate Attorney

Below is a partial listing of cases published in Texas wherein Timothy A. Hootman is listed as Counsel of  Record.  These are important because opinions that are published, such as these, effectively become part of Texas Law.

Civil Appeals

• Barfield v. City of LaPorte, 849 S.W.2d 842 (Tex. App.–Texarkana 1993), aff’d, 898 S.W.2d 288 (Tex. 1995) (labor law) (first case to hold that governmental immunity waived regarding worker’s compensation retaliatory discharge statute)
• Pulido v. Dennis, 888 S.W.2d 518 (Tex. App.–El Paso 1994, no writ) (personal injury) (interpretation of the public school teacher immunity statute)
• City of LaPorte v. Barfield, 898 S.W.2d 288 (Tex. 1995) (labor law) (governmental immunity case cited in over a dozen law review articles)
• Mitchell v. Weisner, 923 S.W.2d 262 (Tex. App.–Beaumont 1996, no writ) (labor law) (setting limits on application of the after-acquired evidence doctrine as applied to retaliatory discharge cases)
• Anderson v. Hood Cnty., 958 S.W.2d 448 (Tex. App.–Fort Worth 1998, no pet.) (personal injury) (interpretation of the notice of injury statute under Worker’s Compensation Act)
• Chapman v. Hootman, 999 S.W.2d 118 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, no pet.) (breach of contract) (sanctions on appeal)
• Morgan v. Timmers Chevrolet, Inc., 1 S.W.3d 803 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, pet denied) (premises liability) (reversal when the trial court improperly allows admissions to be undeemed during trial)
• In re Hawk, 5 S.W.3d 874 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 1999, no pet.) (heirship dispute) (motion to reopen and  motion for new trial procedural limits of the trial court)
• Van Polen v. Wisch, 23 S.W.3d 510 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, pet. denied) (legal malpractice) (exception to therequirement that a plaintiff prove actual innocence regarding legalmalpractice in the criminal defense context)
• Sanes v. Clark, 25 S.W.3d 800 (Tex. App.–Waco 2000, pet. denied) (attorney fee dispute) (voidable attorney contingency fee contracts)
• Luker v. Youngmeyer, 36 S.W.3d 628 (Tex. App.–Tyler 2000, no pet.) (heirship dispute) (procedural requirements of a holographic will)
• In re Fuselier, 56 S.W.3d 265 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2001) (orig. proceeding) (family law dispute) (mandamus \ regarding nunc pro tunc of a non-suit with prejudice)
• Supak v. Zboril, 56 S.W.2d 785 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2001, no pet.) (real estate dispute) (implied dedication of a roadway)
• Johnson v. Smith, 88 S.W.3d 729 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi, 2002, no pet.) (personal injury horse bite case) (first case to interpret the equine statute – cited and discussed at length in  Robert Fugate, Survey of Texas Animal Torts, 48 S. Tex. L. Rev. 427, 464 (2006))
• Dahl v. State, 92 S.W.3d 856 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, no pet.) (dispute of government taking of real  estate) (sovereign immunity and inverse condemnation)
• Russo v. Smith Int’l, Inc., 93 S.W.3d 428 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, pet. denied) (labor law) (age discrimination under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act)
• Houston Land & Cattle Co. v. Harris Cnty. Appraisal Dist., 104 S.W.3d 622 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2003, pet. denied) (property tax dispute) (property tax case regarding the validity of past increases in the appraised value of property)
• Lewis v. Nolan, 105 S.W.3d 185 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2003, pet. denied) (legal malpractice) (the discovery rule in the legal malpractice context)
• Sydlick v. Reeii, 195 S.W.3d 329 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, no pet.) (contract dispute) (pre-injury release interpretation and propriety)
• Sterling v. Willard, 221 S.W.3d 121 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, no pet.) (business litigation) (the meaning of “costs”as applied to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure)
• Ex rel Teal v. State, 230 S.W.3d 427 (Tex. App.–San Antonio 2007, pet. denied) (removal of public officer proceeding) (procedural issues regarding trial of a removal of governmental official case)
• Little v. Needham, 236 S.W.3d 328 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, no pet.) (personal injury by horse) (interpretation of the equine statute)
• McCoy v. Rogers, 240 S.W.3d 267 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, no pet.) (real estate litigation) (propriety of a sheriff’s post-judgment levy and sale of real property)
• In Liner America, Inc. v. Macomb Funding Grp., L.L.C., 244. S.W.3d 427 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2007, pet. dism’d) (legal malpractice) (appeal time tables regarding an interlocutory appeal)
• Gary E. Patterson & Assoc. v. Holub, 267 S.W.3d 180 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied) (technicalities regarding execution on civil judgments) (appeal time tables regarding an interlocutory appeal)
• Lundy v. Masson, 260 S.W.3d 482 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied) (business litigation) (complex liability and damage issues)
• Mensa-Wilmont v. Smith Int’l, Inc., 312 S.W.3d 771 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2009, no pet.) (business litigation) (enforceability of an abstract of judgment and its release)
• In re Pham, 314 S.W.3d 320 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2010) (orig. proceeding) (attorney-client dispute) (enforceability of an arbitration clause in attorney-client contingency fee contract)
• Henry v. Masson, 333 S.W.3d 825 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, no pet.) (partnership breakup) (contract interpretation regarding dissolution of orthopedic surgery practice)
• Gail v. Berry, 343 S.W.3d 520 (Tex. App.–Eastland 2011, pet. denied) (oil and gas) (mineral rights dispute regarding reformation of a mutual mistake in a deed)
• Rawhide Mesa-Partners, Ltd v. Brown McCarroll, L.L.P., 344 S.W.3d 56 (Tex. App.–Eastland 2011, no pet.) (legal malpractice) (negligent misrepresentation claim addressing whether an attorney owed a duty to disclose information)
• InLiner Americas, Inc. v. Macomb Funding Grp., L.L.C., 348 S.W.3d 1 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. denied) (legal malpractice) (legal malpractice claims are not assignable to third parties)
• Razo v. Vargas, 355 S.W.3d 866 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, no pet.) (international child custody) (dispute regarding the procedural propriety of how the trial court recognized a Mexican judicial decree)
• Farrar v. Sabine Mgmt. Corp., 362 S.W.3d 694 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, no pet.) (personal injury) (appeal of the evidence submitted on causation in a premise liability summary judgment proceeding)
• Arredondo v. Betancourt, 383 S.W.3d 730 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (international custody dispute and the constitutional liberty interest to travel abroad)
• Ayala v. Ayala, 387 S.W.3d 721 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, no pet.) (divorce and estate division) (multi-issue appeal over the sufficiency of the evidence to support final order after divorce)
• Morris v. Houston Ind. Sch. Dist., 388 S.W.3d 310 (Tex. 2012) (property taxation dispute) (procedure on contesting real property tax valuations)
• In re Mark Henry, 388 S.W.3d 719 (Tex. App.—Houston [1^st Dist.] 2012, pet. denied) (business litigation) (the trial court’s obligation to comply with the mandate from the court of appeals regarding)
• McBride v. McBride, 396 S.W.3d 724 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, pet. denied) (post-divorce proceeding) (trial court’s discretion regarding modification of visitation, contempt and child support arrearage determinations)
• Morgan Sec. Consulting, LLC v. Kaufman Cnty., 397 S.W.3d 248 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2012, no pet.) (injunction regarding shooting range) (procedural issues regarding appeal from a temporary injunction)
• Hand & Wrist Ctr. of Houston, P.A. v. Republic Serv., Inc., 401 S.W.3d 712 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.) (business litigation) (proper method that should be applied when determining prejudgment interest and the right to interest on pretrial partial tenders of payment)
• Boulanger v. Waste Mgmt. of Texas, Inc., 403 S.W.3d 1 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2013, pet. denied) (real estate litigation) (the proper methodology to be applied when construing the language contained in a deed)
• Hand & Wrist Ctr. of Houston, P.A. v. SGS Control Serv., Inc., 409 S.W.3d 743 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2013, no pet.) (contract dispute) (medical care providers are not subject to the exclusive remedies provision contained in the Texas Worker’s Compensation Act)
• Henry v. Masson, 453 S.W.3d 43 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, no pet.) (prejudgment interest and costs of court allocations after multiple appeals)
• In the Interest of A.E.M., 455 S.W.3d 684 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2014, no pet.) (procedure to change minor’s name when parents disagree)
• In the Interest of S.A.H., 465 S.W.3d 662 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, no pet.) (international custody dispute and the jurisdictional right of Texas courts to adjudicate)
• Monfore v. Phillips, 774 F.3d 844 (10th Cir. 2015) (Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote opinion before being appointed to United States Supreme Court) (modification of pretrial order and admissibility of tobacco and alcohol use in malpractice case for failure to warn that test results indicated cancer)
• Myles v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hosp., 468 S.W.3d 207 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. denied) (medical malpractice) (procedural requirements when sueing medical care providers)
• Menon v. Water Splash, Inc., 471 S.W.3d 28 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. filed) (business litigation) (international treaty interpretation of the Hague Service Convention)
• Estrada v. Cheshire, 470 S.W.3d 109 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015, pet. denied) (real estate litigation) (adverse possession of real property)
• Min v. H & S Crane Sales, Inc., 472 S.W.3d 773 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. filed) (business litigation) (procedural issues regarding reappeal of the same judgment)
• City of Anahuac v. Morris, 484 S.W.3d 176 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. denied) (claims against city) (unconstitutionality of city ordinance)
• Dampier v. Willaims, 493 S.W.3d 118 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, no pet.) (probate) (oral adoption of an adult through estoppal)
• In re CVR Energy, Inc., 500 S.W.3d 67 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016, orig. proceeding) (chemical plant explosion) (responsible third party pleadings issues)
• Lopez v. Ensign, LLC, 524 S.W.3d 836 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, no pet.) (personal injury) (oilfield worker's burden of proof requirements in oil rig injury)
• Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon 581 U.S. ___, 137 S. Ct. 1504 (2017) (international business litigation) (United States Supreme Court ruling that the Hague Service Convetion does not itself authorize service of process by mail against a defendant located in a foreign country—the Convention defers to local law as to whether service by mail is allowed)
• In the Interst of C.C.E., 530 S.W.3d 314 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, no pet.) (custody dispute) (procedural issues regarding mootness on appeal)
• Bloom v. Aftermath Public Adjusters, Inc., 902 F.3d 516 (5th Cir. 2018) (removal case) (procedure regarding certification of state law questions from federal court to state supreme court and Texas Hughes tolling rule's applicability to public adjuster malpractice claims)
• Zoanni v. Hogan, 555 S.W.3d 321 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2018, pet. filed) (defamation case) (interpretation of the Defamation Damage Mitigation Act)
• Jones v. The Matress Firm, 558 S.W.3d 732 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2018, no pet.) (personal injury) (admissibility of Google Earth photographs)
• Greeheyco, Inc. v. Brown, 565 S.W.3d 309 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2018, no pet.) (oil and gas) (interpretation of oil gas lease as to when the "continuous drilling clase" terminates the right to drill)
• In re Thompson, 569 S.W.3d 169 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2018, orig. proceeding) (real estate litigation) (procedural issues regarding the trial court's plenary power to set aside a judgment)
• Cook v, Nissimov, 580 S.W.3d 745 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2019, pet. denied) (real property litigation) (issues regarding easement rights)
• Don Lacy and Homes v. Castillo 580 S.W.3d 830 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2019, no pet.) (business litigation) (procedural issues regarding nonsuit taken to avoid an adverse ruling and whether refiling the claim is prohibited)
• Rahlek, Ltd. v. Wells, 587 S.W.3d 57 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2019, pet. denied) (oil and gas) (interpretation of warranty deed as to amount of mineral and royalty interests intended to be conveyed; and non-application of the statute of limitations to an unjust-enrichment counterclaim for royalty interest payments to the wrong party)
• Taylor v. Taylor, 608 S.W.3d 265 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st 2020, no pet.) (protective order) (a permanent protective order cannot be based on violation of an ex parte temporary order)
• Sanchez v. Striever, 614 S.W.3d 233 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2020, no pet.) (constitutional law) (assault by pouring water on the head of a politician making a public speech is not protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and therefore, the politician's civil assault claim against the person pouring the water is not properly dismissed under the Texas Citizens Participation Act)
• Hogan v. Zoanni, 627 S.W.3d 163 (Tex. 2021) (plurality op.) (defamation) (holding that the penalty for failure of a defamed person to comply with the requirements of the Defamation Mitigation Act is no recovery of punitive damages--the penalty is not dismissal of the defamed person's defamation claim)
• Dayston, LLC v. Brooke, 630 S.W.3d 220 (Tex. App.—Eastland 2020, no pet.) (real estate litigation) (interpretation of contract for sale of land where contract, allegedly, did not adequately describe the land so as to be enforceable)
• Durant v. Lumberjack Energy, LLC, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex. App.—Eastland 2021, no pet.) (real estate litigation) (issues regarding conversion of marital separate property into marital community property)
• K. Griff Investigations, Inc. v. Cronin, Riordan, LLC, 633 S.W.3d 81 (Tex. App.—Houston[14th Dist.] 2021, no pet.)(business litigation)
• Gillespie v. Galveston County Health Dist., 639 S.W.3d 815 (Tex. App.—Houston[14th Dist.] 2021, no pet.)(personal injury) (no government immunity where ambulance ran into a car at an intersection)
• Deloach v. Stelly, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex. App.—Houston[14th Dist.] 2018), rev'd, Stelly v. Deloach, ___ S.W.3d ____ (2022) (real estate litigation) (Dispute over 600-acre farm holding the four-year statute of limitations period does not bar a trespass-to-try-title action based on a vested-equitable-title theory of recovery)
• Prosper Florida, Inc. v Spicy World of usit, Inc., ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex. App.—Houston[1st Dist.] 2022, no pet.)(international business litigation) (Uniform Commercial Code issues regarding mistaken payment to the wrong party and whether the buyer or seller has to assume the loss for the mistaken payment)

Criminal Appeals

• Anderson v. State, 866 S.W.2d 685 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, pet. ref’d) (driving while intoxicated case regarding Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus)
• Kugler v. State, 902 S.W.2d 594 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, pet. ref’d) (assault case regarding improper use of polygraph testing during trial)
• Ashton v. State, 931 S.W.2d 5 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 1996, pet. ref’d) (drug possession case regarding illegal search and seizure)
• Serrano v. State, 936 S.W.2d 387 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 1996, no pet.) (driving while intoxicated case regarding use of blood test results and failure of the arresting officer to identify the accused during trial)
• Carreras v. State, 936 S.W.2d 727 (Tex. App. – Houston [14th Dist.] 1997, pet. ref’d), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 933 (1997) (equal protection violation and selective prosecution)
• Sandoval v. State, 946 S.W.2d 472 (Tex. App.–Corpus Christi 1997, pet. ref’d) (drug possession case with multiple trial issues, including affirmative links and proper admission of evidence)
• D.R.H. v. State, 966 S.W.2d 618 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, pet. denied) (juvenile prosecution for drug possession regarding improper admonishment at adjudication hearing)
• Ackridge v. State, 13 S.W.3d 808 (Tex. App.–Beaumont 2000, no pet.) (felony driving while intoxicated case where primary issue was conflict of trial lawyer acting as bondsman and attorney—discussed at length in Dayla S. Pepi & Donna D. Bloom, Take the Money or Run: The Risky Business of Acting as Both Your Client’s Lawyer and Bail Bondsman,  37 St. Mary. L. J. 933, 995-1001 (2006))
• Rodriguez v. State, 21 S.W.3d 562 (Tex. App.–Houston  [14th Dist.] 2000, pet. ref’d), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 995 (2001) (murder case–due process issues regarding the trial were discussed at length)
• Stephens v. State, 59 S.W.3d 377 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2001, pet. ref’d) (drug possession case where the propriety of the trial court’s striking defensive testimony because of Fifth Amendment invocation is discussed)
• Stitt v. State, 102 S.W.3d 845 (Tex. App.–Texarkana 2003, pet. ref’d) (interfering with public duties case where the issue of the use of character testimony is discussed)
• Miles v. State, 154 S.W.3d 679 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2005) (aggravated theft case where the issue is the violation of the defendant’s presumption of innocence is discussed)
• Miles v. State, 204 S.W.3d 822 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006), cert. denied, 127 S. Ct. 1496 (2007) (aggravated theft – whether violation of the defendant’s right to a presumption of innocence is structural error)
• Ex parte Legrand, 291 S.W.3d 31 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. ref’d) (habeas corpus) (multiple double jeopardy issues regarding prosecutorial misconduct)
• Marines v. State, 292 S.W.3d 103 (Tex. App.–Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. ref’d) (procedural issues regarding the sufficiency of the evidence in a murder prosecution)
• Bounds v. State, 355 S.W.3d 252 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist.] 2011, no pet.) (legally insufficient evidence regarding white collar crime)
• Tope v. State, 429 S.W.3d 75 (Tex. App.–Houston [1st Dist] 2014, no pet.) (the Texas constitution separation of powers clause as a bar to certain types of prosecutorial decisions)
• Wilson v. State, 431 S.W.3d 92 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2013) (acquittal after jury conviction for criminal harassment)
• State v. Wilson, 448 S.W.3d 418 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (significant reinterpretation of the telephonic harassment statute)
• In the matter of J.C.W.G., 587 S.W.3d 57 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2020, no pet.) (procedural issues regarding the State's ability to prosecute a jevenile charged with aggravated sexual assault as an adult when the offense occurred while the juvenile was a minor but became an adult while the case was pending)
• Barnes v. State, 631 S.W.3d 281 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2020, pet. denied) (proof requirements regarding prosecution for rataliation against a public servant by threat of assault and "as applied" challenges against the stattute as violating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constition)
• Dahl v. State, 605 S.W.3d 872 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2020, no pet.) (the procedural law regarding impermissible burden-shifting in criminal jury charge prosecution)
• Starkey v. James Stainton, Dist. Atty. of Wise Cnty, Texas, ___ S.W.3d ___ (Tex. App.—Fort Worth [1st Dist.] 2022, no pet.)(post-conviction) (procedural issues regarding use of the Texas Open Records Act to access government information in a habeas proceeding)
   

For prompt attention to your criminal or civil appeal, contact the law office of Tim Hootman, Texas Appellate Attorney, at 713.247.9548 or 713.366.6229 (cell), or send him an email (thootman2000@yahoo.com).