Co-author Derek Younkers *
For the last 15 years, our Tilting the Scales article outlining the “Top 10 Texas Fireworks Laws” has been an explosive hit every July 4 and New Year’s. This year, especially with the excessive heat we’re experiencing, you may be wondering if your upcoming weekend fireworks extravaganza will be dampened by a county burn ban?Continue Reading Fireworks – Do Burn Bans Snuff Them?
Left home alone by his inattentive parents and fearing the Wet Bandits, ten-year-old Kevin McAllister rigs his home with a series of booby traps to stop the would-be burglars. Among other measures, Kevin sprays the front steps with water, which quickly freezes, and uses an electric BBQ starter to turn his front doorknob molten hot. But Kevin’s best-lain plan quickly goes awry. Concerned about Kevin safety, Old Man Marley stops by and attempts to open the door. Recoiling in pain, he stumbles backward, slips on the steps, and falls in the snow. Old Man Marley is later diagnosed with a severe concussion and a full-thickness third-degree burn. Will Kevin be ensnared by Marley’s forthcoming lawsuit?
Continue Reading The Law of Booby Traps in Texas for Those Left Home Alone
Andy Taylor’s seven-year-old son, Opie, discovers the fireworks that his father had purchased for Independence Day. He begins shooting them in a field behind their house. But Opie fails to extinguish one of the matches, which sets fire to the arid grass. Opie attempts to stomp it out but is unsuccessful. Terrified, he flees. The blaze continues to grow, spreading across the field to a nearby lumber yard. The fire consumes—and destroys—the lumber yard. Its owner looks to hold someone responsible, but is keenly aware that little boys lack the assets necessary to satisfy any judgment rendered against them. So the lumber yard’s owner considers suing Andy instead. Is Andy liable for his son’s negligence?
Continue Reading Blame the Parents: Liability for Children’s Torts
Cookie Bux has two elementary age children, Kitten and Jeff who really want to go Trick-or-Treating this Halloween. In fact, Jeff has been wearing his Star Wars Stormtrooper costume around the house since September. Can Kitten and Jeff Trick-or-Treat this year?
Continue Reading COVID-19 Impacting Halloween? A Scary Thought!
On December 26, Marty and Dave McFly were playing video games when, downstairs in the living room, the hoverboard that Marty had received for Christmas ignited. The fire quickly engulfed the Christmas tree and spread throughout the house. Marty and Dave escaped with minor injuries, but their house was destroyed. Since the McFlys had bought the hoverboard from Amazon.com, they sued the company, alleging that it sold them a defective product and failed to warn them that it was unsafe. Amazon, however, argues that it is not responsible because it did not manufacture or even sell the hoverboard. Instead, it merely set up a marketplace by which a third-party Chinese manufacturer sold the hoverboard. Is the McFlys’ lawsuit up in smoke?
Continue Reading Amazon Packages Bursting into Open Fires, Jack Frost Nipping at Your Nose…
Releasing an image of a pickup truck closely resembling I.M. Steelin’s, Texas Parks and Wildlife investigators believe a red stag deer was shot by I.M. Steelin over the Thanksgiving weekend. The exotic, tame, breeding, red deer bull “Rudolph” was found decapitated on Bragg Schtag’s sprawling Red Bull Ranch – a large hunting ranch with a high-fence on a remote road in northwest Burnet County. Facing a string of charges, including a potential third-degree felony for poaching, can I.M. Steelin really be jailed for poaching from a county road? Can Schtag sue Steelin for damages?
Continue Reading Poaching Santa’s Reindeer – What’s the Penalty for Poaching Your Neighbor’s Red Stag?
Too old to trick-or-treat, too cool to stay at home with their parents and wanting some Halloween excitement, high school students (presumably 18 years old) Rosemary and Buffy head for Hill House, a new haunted house where the actors can touch the guests, separate them from their group and even force them down “secret” passages. Shelling out $20 apiece, Rosemary and Buffy sign a one-page form without reading it and step in to a terrifying experience – but not as they expected. Accosted by all manner of ghouls, Rosemary is forced down a secret passage where a “vampire” gropes her. Chasing Buffy through the darkness, a chainsaw-wielding maniac runs Buffy into a wall. They emerge from Hill House crying and screaming. Rosemary is distressed; Buffy later discovers that her nose is broken. They want to sue Hill House and its employees, but what about that one-page form (release) they signed?
Continue Reading #MeToo and “Releases” in a Haunted House – Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun
Jim Duncey, the owner of Duncey’s Caps, Inc., decides to hold an employee/significant other holiday party this year with live music and an open cash bar managed by a third-party bartending service. Each employee will get three drink tickets. Jim also hires private security for the party because he knows there’s bad blood between two of his employees, Jake Hammerhead and Tom Colecocken. As the party is winding down, Hammerhead grabs another drink from the bar, even though he’s clearly intoxicated. As he turns around he bumps into Colecocken and yells “Watch where you’re going!” Colecocken, who is also visibly intoxicated, turns and goes nose-to-nose with Hammerhead. At that point a crowd gathers around, and people start video recording. When Hammerhead refuses to back down, Colecoken throws a sucker punch, leaving Hammerhead knocked out on the floor.
With the entire room stunned, Colecocken manages to walk out the door and get into his truck to drive home. At the very first traffic light, he crashes into three parked vehicles. Luckily no one is hurt. The police arrest him for DWI, but Colecocken gets bailed out once he sobers up.
The next day, Karl Bumler, another Duncey’s Caps employee, finds out that his wife posted her video of the fight on their joint UzeTube account. Bumler called his wife and told her to take it down, but it’s too late – the video had gone viral. On Monday morning Duncey calls Hammerhead, Colecocken and Bumler into his office and summarily fires all three. Can Duncey do that? Do Duncey, the bartending service, or the security service have any liability to the owners of the three parked cars?Continue Reading Fight Night at Your Company Holiday Party
We covered firework laws several times in the past but it’s always a good reminder as we approach the Fourth of July weekend where fireworks are more than likely in your plans. Below are Texas’ top 10 firework laws you should consider before lighting the fuse. Remember though, laws may vary county to county.
And, don’t forget that any County Commissioners Court in Texas can issue a burn ban prohibiting burning of any kind – including fireworks anywhere in that county, whether within the incorporated city limits or not. Because sparklers burn at approximately 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, they count as fireworks / fire as well.Continue Reading An Oldie but a Goodie: A Friendly Reminder About Firework Laws in Texas
On Valentine’s Day, Zack takes Kelly, his high school sweetheart who goes to a different college, to the Max for a romantic dinner. At the end of the meal Zack says, “Kelly, I want us to promise each other that after college we’ll both move back to Bayside and get married. Will you marry me?”