Year-end presents just arrived via the Texas Supreme Court’s November/December writ granting! Because oral arguments and opinions will pop up in 2022, these gifts will just keep on giving.

Let’s start with a writ granted right before Thanksgiving, In re Whataburger Restaurants, and Case No 21-0165, involving a mandamus petition arising from an opinion by the El Paso Court of Appeals. Issue: Is an employee allegedly injured while at work required to submit her personal injury claim to binding arbitration? (Because Whataburger is a non-subscriber to the workers’ compensation system, she can sue it for negligence in state court.) By the way, she was injured, get this, on Dec. 23, 2012, nine years ago.