Inadmissible

Stalled for almost a month, a bill that addresses the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling in Entergy Gulf States Inc. v. Summers won a positive recommendation on April 14 from the House Committee on Business and Industry. H.B. 1657, authored by state Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, amends the Texas Labor Code’s definitions for “general contractor” and “subcontractor.” Those definitions are the key to the Supreme Court’s April 3 ruling in Entergy that a premises owner that provides workers’ compensation insurance for all subcontractors’ employees working on its job site qualifies for immunity from an injured worker’s suit for negligence. With two members absent, the Business and Industry Committee voted 9-0 to send H.B. 1657 to the Calendars Committee to be scheduled for a vote in the full House. Giddings says Business and Industry Committee members are in agreement that the Supreme Court “overreached” in its 6-3 ruling in Entergy . “It was never legislative intent to give third-party immunity to a premises owner,” she says. State Rep. Joe Deshotel , a Beaumont Democrat who chairs the Business and Industry Committee, says he had to do “some horse-trading” to move the bill out of his committee, where it had been stuck since a March 16 hearing. But Deshotel, a solo, says he believes the bill will face fewer problems in the Calendars Committee.

No Summer Vacation

On April 10, the seniors of Yavneh Academy of Dallas finished with classroom instruction for the school year. That means the workload decreases somewhat for Dallas lawyer Chad Baruch , who’s also an assistant principal at the private Jewish high school. But that doesn’t mean Baruch will fire up the PlayStation prior to prepping for the next school year. In addition to his position at the school, where he teaches a government class and coaches the basketball team, he also maintains a thriving appellate practice. “I always try to practice more law in the summer,” he says — plus, he’s a section representative to the State Bar of Texas board of directors. While he says the school is very flexible with his client commitments, he admits that he ends up working a lot of evenings and weekends. But he wouldn’t have it any other way: “I always tell people jokingly that when I get sick of one job, I can do the other, and there is some truth to that.” Also this summer, he’ll be shaping up a petition for cert to the U.S. Supreme Court. When it comes to “What I Did This Summer” essays, petitioning the high court is way cooler than getting a high score.

Mr. Roper as Receiver