Photo of Jonathon Duffy

Jonathon Duffy

Jonathon advises clients of all sizes—from family-owned businesses to multinational corporations—across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and food and beverage, on navigating the ever-changing landscape of labor and employment law. His practice spans labor and employment counseling, labor relations, and related litigation matters. He advises clients on maintaining compliant employee handbooks, workplace policies, employment agreements, and other key documents, while also providing guidance on day-to-day employment matters. Jonathon's labor experience includes union election campaigns, collective bargaining, grievance arbitrations, and other matters arising under labor law.

Contact:Read more about Jonathon Duffy

Senate Bill 293 (SB 293), codified at Section 23.303 of the Texas Government Code, requires Texas courts to follow a strict schedule for hearings and rulings on motions for summary judgment. Effective September 1, 2025, SB 293 aims to streamline judicial efficiency and provide Texas litigants with more predictability. Relatedly, Texas House Bill 16 (HB 16), effective December 4, 2025, modifies the timelines for judicial action initially set by SB 293 in two ways:

1) by increasing the time courts have to consider motions for summary judgment from 45 days after the motion is filed to 60 days; and

2) by allowing courts up to 90 days after a summary judgment motion is filed to consider it, but only under very limited circumstances. Motions for summary judgment filed between September 1, 2025 and December 3, 2025 are subject to the deadlines originally introduced by SB 293.

Introduction

On October 6, 2025, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in Syngenta Crop, LLC v. Nemeth, passing on an opportunity to clarify its prior decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern and address whether Pennsylvania’s “consent to jurisdiction” statute violates the dormant Commerce Clause. The result: for now, out-of-state corporations registered to do business in Pennsylvania remain subject to general personal jurisdiction in the Commonwealth, regardless of the extent of their in-state operations.

As the demand for clean energy and transportation grows, so does the need for rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used, from small toys to electric cars to large energy storage systems. While some lithium-ion batteries are already subject to regulations, rechargeable batteries used in “micro-mobility devices” such as electric bikes and scooters are currently not subject to any federal safety standards. Some advocates contend that a lack of regulation has led to an increase in fires caused by poor quality, defective batteries. According to a report by CBS News New York, defective lithium-ion batteries have allegedly resulted in 400 fires, 300 injuries, and 12 deaths between 2019 and 2023 in New York City alone.