By Kent Rutter and Natasha Breaux
PI on Appeal:
Overview and the Shifting Trends
A
trial court’s judgment brings finality to one phase of a case, but many litigation attorneys find that they are soon challenged to answer a new series of questions from their client: • Should we aim for a post-judgment settlement? • Should we roll the dice on appeal? • How often do the courts of appeals reverse judgments for plaintiffs or defendants in personal injury cases? • Do the Houston courts of appeals reverse more or less often than other courts? • Did the 2018 elections have an impact? This article aims to help attorneys answer client questions like these, using empirical data from the authors’ study of all civil appeals1 decided by the fourteen Texas courts of appeals during the 20182019 court year. The study categorized decisions according to the procedure by which the case was decided and the substance of the claim.2 When the outcome was a reversal,3 the study identified the reason for the reversal. The key findings—with a focus on tort appeals and the Houston courts of appeals—are outlined below. REVERSALS IN TORT AND DTPA CASES Across Texas, the ground is shifting in appeals of both tort and DTPA cases. As recently as the 2011-2012 court year, when the plaintiff in a tort or DTPA case prevailed in the trial court and the defendant appealed, the defendant won a reversal half the time. During the 20182019 court year however, the reversal rate plunged to 27%. On the other side of the equation, the 2018-2019 court year demonstrated that when the defendant prevailed in the trial court and the plaintiff appealed, the chances of reversal were only 17%, down from 25% in the 2011-2012 court year. In four courts of appeals—the First and Fourteenth Courts in Houston, as well as the courts in Dallas and San
