Trial Mix, Episode 2

Welcome to my weekly review of interesting events in law, literature and film …

1.     Unjustly Enriched

This week’s installment features a case I tried and won last February and was recently affirmed by the Fort Worth Court of Appeals.

My client, William Cain, contracted to buy a truck brokerage business. Rod Larson had a lien on the business. The sellers required an earnest money deposit of $219,000 which was held “in escrow” by Larson. The sale was contingent on the approval of the transfer of ownership by a third party. When the approval was denied, Cain requested that Larson return the money. Larson refused. I filed suit on behalf of Cain. Since Larson was not a party to the actual contract we had to find an alternate theory-unjust enrichment.

Unjust enrichment is an equitable theory where a party receives a benefit that was conferred by another party to its detriment. Rarely used, but pretty simple.

As the Court of Appeals stated: “Larson held earnest money that in equity and good conscience belonged to Cain.”

The jury awarded all of our deposit plus attorney’s fees and interest.

You can find the Briefs and Opinion by clicking here.

2.     Legal Article of the Week: Undue Influence

Do you recognize this man?

If you care about the direction of our jurisprudence, perhaps you should. This is Leonard Leo. Leo has played an important (some would say unethical) role in building a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court. If you care about abortion, election laws or gun rights, you should learn more about the man behind the Court’s hard right turn. Read more by clicking here.

3.     Non-Legal Article of the Week: Tired of Emails from Politicians Asking for Money?

This is hilarious. Click here.

4.     Book Recommendation of the Week

“Rules of Civility” by Amor Towles. Every book by Amor Towles is worth your time. But this one is fantastic. Set in post-depression era New York, the novel follows Katey Kontent as she navigates love and social strictures.

5.     Legal Movie Clip of the Week: The Verdict

Have you ever watched a final argument where the lawyer does not mention a single thing about the case? Watch it here.