The Texas Supreme Court has reaffirmed one of the strongest immunity protections that civil litigators have by ruling that lawyers cannot be sued by third parties over statements they make in open court on behalf of clients.

The case, Youngkin v. Hines, stems from a property dispute over a 285-acre tract of land in Brazos County. In that case, Buetta and Rajen Scott hired attorney Bill Youngkin to file an action seeking a declaration that they were the rightful owners of that property. At the same time, another family heir to the land, Billy G. Hines, opposed them in the litigation.