Philip W. Boyko Law Blog

I receive a lot of landlord/tenant questions from clients, but mostly from prospective clients calling for the first time. One question I don't often get concerns the obligation of the landlord in Texas with regard to the residential tenant's safety in the leased premises. Specifically, window latches and doorknob keys on the exterior doors and windows to the premises. The tenant should know that the landlord operating in Texas has statutory duties in this... Read More

As a lawyer, I am often asked to review contracts of all kinds.  Hopefully, the client is asking me to conduct that review prior to the signing of the written lease contract.  Unfortunately, that is not usually the case, and especially so in the situation of a residential lease.  For some reason, clients fail to send the residential lease to their attorney, somehow believing that the contract is not subject to negotiation.... Read More

I recently had a client express serious concern over an issue that is the subject of this post, that being the "answer date" in litigation in which the client was involved.  Shortly after agreeing to take on the lawsuit in which the client had been sued, had been served with citation, but had not answered, I explained to the client that the answer date, according to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, was 10:00 a.m. on the Monday next following the... Read More

A family member unexpectedly passes away and you are the executor named in the decedent's Will, at least that's what you remember from a long-ago conversation you had with the decedent.  Problem is that the Will is in a safe deposit box owned by the decedent. What to do?

It's no secret that Wills and other legal documents are many times stored in a safe deposit box.  But how do you access that box now, before your appointment as the executor of the decedent's estate?... Read More

Businesses lose hundreds of thousands of dollars annually because of NSF (insufficient or non-sufficient funds) checks when those instruments are not honored by the banks the're written on. The business owners must factor in the additional time, frustration, and resources to go after the offenders and their fraud. The business owner could pursue a criminal action, but it's much more costly to pursue criminal penalties. In most jurisdictions, it's necessary to file a... Read More

We often hear about relationships resulting in a breach of "fiduciary duty."  But does the general public know what type of relationship gives rise to a fiduciary duty in the first place?  The purpose of this post is to provide the reader with a better understanding of the type of relationship to which will attach a "fiduciary duty."

Perhaps it would be beneficial to approach the topic from the back end, i.e., to first start with a clear... Read More

Chances are good that if you live in Houston, Texas and own a home or a condominium, there is a good chance that you belong to a community association of some kind, sometimes called a property owners' association or a homeowners' association (the "Association").Inherent in that concept of Associations is the public policy recognizing the advantages to landowners in accepting mutual benefits and burdens regarding the property.  One of the burdens is "assessment... Read More

I can't turn on my car radio these days without hearing an advertisement by one of the many companies selling what I will call "incorporation kits" to the masses at prices that are significantly less than the cost of a single hour charged by any self-respecting attorney.  The advertisement almost always includes questions that go something like this: "But don't I need to hire a lawyer to incorporate?  Incorporating a business is difficult!" ... Read More

A sometimes overlooked area of the real estate foreclosure landscape is the application of the statute of limitations (hereinafter the "Statute") to the decision by the trustee to foreclose on default of the real estate lien note by the mortgagor (landowner).  This is an important consideration as there is no authority for the trustee designated in the deed of trust to conduct a foreclosure sale if the Statute bars enforcement of the debt.  One must remember that the... Read More

Your business has not received payment from a debtor corporation (the "corporation")for services rendered or goods delivered by your company.  As you turn the claim over to your attorney for collection, who do you sue?  The corporation for sure as your company's invoice is clearly addressed to the corporation/buyer.  Unfortunately, you never had any of the officers or directors sign a guaranty of the debt, so you think you will not be able to sue... Read More