Our Dallas Office

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 224626
Dallas, Texas 75222

Physical address:
2223 W Jefferson Blvd.
Dallas, Texas 75208

214.946.8000 phone
214.946.8433 fax

Our Santa Fe Office

505 Cerrillos Road, Suite A209
Santa Fe, NM 87501

505.986.0600 phone
505.986.0632 fax

Our Houston Office

2000 West Loop South, Suite 2200
Houston, Texas 77027

713.401.9901 phone
214.946.8433 fax

The “Cow in the Road” appellant and his attorneys are sanctioned for filing a frivolous appeal.

cow-face-300x225Congratulations to Kirk Pittard and Leighton Durham who successfully convinced the Dallas Court of Appeals to not only dismiss an appeal, but to sanction both the defense attorney and his doctor client for pursuing a frivolous appeal.  The “cow in the road” appeal, which stems from serious injuries our client suffered when he ran into a cow owned by a former doctor, began when the former doctor argued that, simply because he was a doctor, the personal injury case was actually a healthcare liability claim which required a Chapter 74 expert report.  The trial court denied the doctor’s motion, and the doctor appealed.  Following the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in Ross v. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, 462 S.W.3d 496 (Tex. 2015), Leighton sent opposing counsel a letter notifying him that, in light of Ross, the appeal was frivolous and should be dismissed.  When he refused to do so, Kirk and Leighton asked that the appeal be dismissed and that they be awarded all attorneys’ fees incurred in defending the frivolous appeal.  On February 9, 2016, the Dallas Court of Appeals agreed that the appeal was frivolous and sanctioned both the defense counsel and the doctor.  You can read about the case in the Texas Lawyer here, or Law360.com here.  A copy of the court’s opinion can be found here.

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