Theresa Van Dyke, Petitioner v. Boswell, O’toole, Davis & Pickering, Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded the case, holding that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on the malpractice counterclaim because the separate trial on the fee claim did not actually litigate the malpractice issues and therefore could not preclude them under res judicata or collateral estoppel. The Court emphasized that a severance or separate trial does not create claim preclusion for the separated claim. The opinion was contested by a dissent that would have affirmed the lower courts' judgment.