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John Scheef Appointed to Serve on Collin County Economic Recovery Task Force

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We are proud to announce Partner John Scheef has been appointed by Collin County Judge Chris Hill to serve on the Economic Recovery Task Force established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  John, along with other Collin County leaders, will develop strategies to help families recover from job loss while focused on remaining safe and healthy.  The task force will also advise city, county, and state policy makers on sustainable economic recovery strategies.

Brent Kugler to Deliver Special Session Presentation on FTC/AvoCare Decision

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Join us for a special session of the Juice featuring a presentation by direct selling partner Brent Kugler to dissect the FTC/AdvoCare decision.  The recent AdvoCare case has rocked the direct selling industry and Brent’s presentation will provide clarification on the FTC’s statements, along with perspective on what the decision means for MLM companies.  Click here to register for the Special Session – Dissecting the FTC/AvoCare Decision.

Thirteen Scheef & Stone Attorneys Recognized in “Super Lawyers” 2019 List

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Congratulations to the thirteen Scheef & Stone attorneys recognized in the 2019 “Super Lawyers” list published by Thomson Reuters.  The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. No more than five percent of the lawyers in Texas are selected by Super Lawyers.

Robert Bolton
Matt Bracy
Rebekah Steely Brooker
Kelly Crawford
John Fischer
Jim Griffin
Byron Henry
Mark Hill
Mitch Little
John Scheef
Bill Stone
Richard Wallace
Brad Whitlock

Eleven Scheef & Stone Attorneys Recognized in “Best Lawyers in America” 2020 List

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Congratulations to the eleven Scheef & Stone attorneys recognized in the 2020 “Best Lawyers in America” list published by Best Lawyers (Woodward/White Inc.).  The “Best Lawyers in America” list is compiled based on an extensive peer review process and regarded as one of the oldest peer-review publications in the legal profession. Only approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice in the US are recognized in this prestigious list.

Ann Badmus
Rob Banta
Roger Crabb
John Fischer
Jim Griffin
Byron Henry
Mitch Little
John Scheef
Mark Simon
Bill Stone
Brad Whitlock

Governor Abbott Appoints Scheef & Stone Attorney Andrea Bouressa as Judge of the 471st District Court in Collin County

By News & Events

Dallas, TX – August 5, 2019 – Scheef & Stone is proud to announce that Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Scheef & Stone attorney, Andrea Bouressa, to serve as Judge of the 471st Judicial District Court in Collin County.  Bouressa’s appointment will be effective September 1, 2019.

Bouressa is an experienced business and commercial litigation attorney with a focus on post-trial and appellate matters.  In addition to her law practice, Bouressa is an active member of the legal community, including the Collin County Bar Association, Collin County Women Lawyers Association, and Texas Aggie Bar Association.

Bouressa has been with Scheef & Stone for just over three years and has been a preeminent attorney for her clients and the firm.

“It’s a little bittersweet,” Founding Partner John Scheef said.  “We are ecstatic for Andrea because she will make a great judge, but a little disappointed to lose Andrea as a great lawyer.”

Bouressa received her Bachelors of Science in Sociology from Texas A&M University, a Master of Science in Sociology from the University of North Texas, and her Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University.  She also is a member of the Federalist Society and a board member of the Collin County Christian Prayer Breakfast.

 Scheef & Stone, LLP provides solid counsel to its valued clients by forging innovative legal solutions to build lasting relationships.  From its offices in Dallas and Frisco, members of the law firm hold themselves to the highest standards, and dedicate themselves to going the extra mile for their clients. These standards have led to strategic growth with nearly 60 lawyers practicing in a full-service commercial firm including immigration, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, tax, construction law, banking, bankruptcy, intellectual property, healthcare, litigation and employment law.

Judge Chris Hill Appoints Justin Simmons to Collin County Historical Commission

By News & Events

Dallas, TX – August 13, 2019 – Scheef & Stone is proud to announce that Collin County Judge Chris Hill appointed Scheef & Stone attorney, Justin Simmons, to serve on the Collin County Historical Commission.  The term will run until December 31, 2021.

The Collin County Historical Commission is the official local chapter of the Texas Historical Commission, and serves as an umbrella organization for all public and private historical groups in Collin County.  The organization seeks to educate and preserve the county’s rich history by conducting activities on the preservation of Collin County’s historical heritage along with continual efforts to preserve landmarks.  Simmons currently serves on both the Finance Committee and the Workshops Committee.  He is part of the Historical Commission’s Speakers Bureau where he presents on 501(c)(3) basics.

“I am a lover of history,” Simmons said.  “I look forward to preserving the history of Collin County as a member of the Historical Commission, and sharing my love of history with others by educating them on the rich history of this county.”

Simmons received his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Stamford University and his Juris Doctor degree from Texas A&M University School of Law.  He also is a member of the Collin County Bar Association, and is the Director of Young Marrieds Bible Fellowship Class at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

 Scheef & Stone, LLP provides solid counsel to its valued clients by forging innovative legal solutions to build lasting relationships.  From its offices in Dallas and Frisco, members of the law firm hold themselves to the highest standards, and dedicate themselves to going the extra mile for their clients. These standards have led to strategic growth with nearly 60 lawyers practicing in a full-service commercial firm including immigration, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, tax, construction law, banking, bankruptcy, intellectual property, healthcare, litigation and employment law.

Rohrmoos Might Make Your Moose Roar – If You Are a Commercial Landlord

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By Jim Pikl

On April 26, 2019, the Texas Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion in Rohrmoos Venture v. UTSW, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2019 WL 1873428 (Tex.2019). Aside from its importance to the law relating to recovery of attorney’s fees (which is significant), it also has serious implications for commercial leasing.

The case involved a commercial landlord, Rohrmoos Venture, that was sued by a tenant, UTSW, for alleged breach of lease based on Rohrmoos not repairing defects in the building UTSW was using as a dialysis clinic. UTSW claimed various problems with the building, including what it deemed a “suitability” defect involving water allegedly coming up through the building’s concrete slab floor. UTSW made other, minor claims of defects such as the roof scuppers not protruding far enough from the edge of the building, the parking lot sloped incorrectly, and some door thresholds not working as designed. Rohrmoos counterclaimed for the two years of rent payments still owing on the lease after UTSW vacated the property and quit paying.

The lease in question had a provision, Article 13, that provided if a serious defect rendering the property unsuitable was brought to the landlord’s attention and the landlord failed to remedy the defect within 105 days of being notified, the tenant could terminate the lease. This lease provision becomes important to the analysis in this post (see below).

Since 1988, Texas law has provided that commercial landlords make an implied warranty of suitability that buildings they lease are suitable for the purpose the tenant is leasing them for, and will remain suitable for the duration of the lease. The Supreme Court created this implied warranty in the case Davidow v. Inwood North Professional Group—Phase I, 747 S.W.2d 373 (Tex.1988). To succeed on a Davidow warranty claim, the tenant had to prove a list of five very specific facts, which include the defect must exist at the time of lease inception and the defect must be such that it renders the building actually unsuitable for use (this is why the warranty is often referred to as the “implied warranty of suitability”).

In making this new implied warranty, the Supreme Court changed 100 years of Texas law under which commercial leases had always been treated differently from residential leases (which have an implied, now statutory, warranty of habitability). Before Davidow, tenants of commercial properties were essentially on a “buyer beware” footing when it came to the condition of the property, and the landlord had no duty (other than a duty that appears in the lease) to make any repairs to the property during the lease term. Finding such a “buyer beware” situation anachronistic, the Court created the Davidow warranty as a stop gap measure. Importantly, the court also held in Davidow that the parties were free to avoid application of the Davidow warranty if they made a contractual provision regarding the property (i.e., an express warranty) that provided the tenant an option to terminate for unsuitability. If they agree to such a provision, that lease provision would control. Article 13 was Rohrmoos’s attempt to make such an express warranty.

UTSW originally sued for breach of the Article 13 suitability provision in its lease with Rohrmoos, but abandoned that claim early on in the case, probably because it knew it could not prove facts necessary to allow it to terminate the lease under that provision. Instead, UTSW proceeded with a defense-only strategy to the landlord’s counterclaim for rent owing, and insisted that the defects with the property were both a breach of Davidow (which the tenant also could not and did not prove) and a “material” breach of contract, both of which supposedly justified the remedy of lease termination. UTSW did not seek money damages at trial.

The jury returned a verdict that Rohrmoos had breached the Davidow warranty and that Rohrmoos had breached the lease. The trial court then entered judgment allowing UTSW to get out of its rental obligations owed for the remainder of the lease term (i.e., lease termination). The trial court did not say whether that remedy was based on the Davidow finding or the “material” breach finding, the implication being that both findings were supportive.

On appeal, Rohrmoos argued multiple things.

First, it argued that the Davidow warranty did not apply because the parties had contracted for an express/suitability/termination clause in Article 13, which thus superceded Davidow’s implied warranty.

Second, Rohrmoos argued that under 100 years of Texas law and the express language in Davidow, since UTSW did not qualify to assert Davidow and did not prove or get jury findings of breach of Article 13, termination was not a remedy available to UTSW for Rohrmoos’s breach, but rather UTSW was only entitled to money damages, which UTSW did not seek.

Third, Rohrmoos argued that since there was insufficient evidence of any of the five elements required under Davidow to prove a suitability defect, termination could not be found under Davidow even if it did apply.

Finally, since UTSW did not get a jury finding of money damages, and the only available remedy was money damages for the breach of lease UTSW proved, the judgment allowing termination should be vacated and UTSW should take nothing.

The Dallas Court of Appeals disagreed, and found that even without Davidow, UTSW was entitled to terminate the lease based on Rohrmoos’s “material” breach of lease, and ignored the historical law allowing only money damages for such breaches and Article 13. Instead, the Court of Appeals found that a “material” breach of a commercial lease does, in fact, justify termination as a remedy regardless of the contrary language in Davidow.

The Supreme Court then granted review, and after holding the case for over three years, issued a unanimous opinion that basically vacates Davidow and changed 100 years of Texas law by holding that any “material” breach of lease by a landlord will afford the tenant the remedy of termination. Neither the Court of Appeals nor the Supreme Court identified what, exactly, such a “material” breach looks like, nor did they set any boundaries on a jury finding a “material” breach. In fact, without doing violence to their opinions, a tenant may now sue to terminate a commercial lease if the tenant gets a jury finding that the landlord’s failure to fix a broken lightbulb is a “material” breach of the lease. And not even a current broken lightbulb, but a lightbulb the landlord had failed to fix three years prior, even if during that three-year period the lightbulb had eventually been fixed. This conclusion is found in the Rohrmoos case facts because the alleged “material” breaches by Rohrmoos had taken place over three years before UTSW terminated the lease, and at the time of termination, every alleged defect UTSW had complained about had been fully remedied for at least three years.

Commercial landlords who have included unsuitability provisions in their leases pursuant to the “permission” to do so found in Davidow should avoid feeling too comfortable that they are protected from tenant’s terminating their leases without first showing that the elements of their unsuitability provision or the Davidow warranty are met. That is because, under Rohrmoos, a tenant can assert “material” breach, walk the lease, and then force the landlord to litigate whether that breach does or does not afford the remedy of termination as a “material” breach.

If the legislature does not fix this situation, commercial landlords can expect a flood of claims being made by dissatisfied tenants who simply want out of their leases, and the strictures found in Davidow and the unsuitability/termination/express warranty provisions found in their leases are now meaningless in that context.

Jim Pikl, Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Learn more about Jim Pikl here

Scheef & Stone Attorneys Named in Texas Rising Star List

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Congratulations to our attorneys recognized in the 2019 Texas Super Lawyer Rising Stars list. The Texas Rising Stars list recognizes top Texas attorneys age 40 and younger who have practiced law for no more than 10 years. Only 2.5 percent of eligible Texas lawyers are selected to be recognized in the list each year based on peer nominations. Join us in congratulating Rebekah Steely Brooker and Anna Brooks.