Any appellate win is important to the client. But G. Don Schauer’s Texas Supreme Court victory also is a relief to his small firm: His law partner won’t have to go to trial this week in Corpus Christi in a contract dispute they believe should be in arbitration.
The high court’s April 1 per curiam opinion in Veronica Ellis and Pacesetter Builders, et al. v. Dr. Ron and Tana Schlimmer involves disputes over arbitration clauses, one of the most commonly litigated aspects of residential housing contracts. And the decision makes an important point: “You better make it very clear what act or acts you are invoking arbitration under,” says Schauer, a partner in Corpus Christi’s Schauer & Simank.
