Job-Injury Case Tests Judge's Authority

The Texas Supreme Court hears oral arguments today in an appeal over the authority of a trial court to grant a new trial in a dispute over a job-injury claim. The lawsuit (No. 05-0300), In re Brookshire Grocery Co., was received from Wood County and the Sixth District Court of Appeals, Texarkana. The Supreme Court reports the issue is whether the trial court retained plenary power to grant a second new-trial motion after signing a judgment in the case, then denying a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict that included an alternative for a new trial. In this case Brookshire has pet...