Laura Leticia Zepeda Vasquez, Individually and on Behalf of the Estate of Jose Abraham Vasquez,Jr. v. Legend Natural Gas III, LP Legend Natural Gas, LLC Lewis Energy Group, LP And Lewis Petro Properties, Inc
04-14-00899-CV
| Tex. App. | Mar 31, 2015Background
- On August 4, 2012, Jose Vasquez died when his vehicle left Krueger Road after being blinded by a dust cloud; his widow, Leticia Zepeda Vasquez, sued ten oil-and-gas companies for negligence and gross negligence.
- Plaintiff alleges defendants’ heavy and frequent truck traffic (including overweight and reckless driving) from drilling operations materially damaged the formerly safe paved public Krueger Road, creating potholes, crevices, bumps, and loss of lane markings.
- Plaintiff pleads defendants knew their operations outpaced county repair capacity and that the road’s condition was foreseeably dangerous to lawful users.
- Plaintiff alleges defendants neither repaired the road nor warned the public of the hazard.
- Defendants moved to dismiss under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 91a, and the trial court granted dismissal as claims having “no basis in law”; plaintiff appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether defendants owed a legal duty to act (repair or warn) after creating a dangerous condition on a public road | Vasquez: defendants who negligently created the dangerous condition on Krueger Road owed a duty to repair it, and even if not negligent, owed a duty to warn lawful users; pleadings state facts entitling her to relief | Defendants: the claims have no basis in law and should be dismissed under Rule 91a | The trial court dismissed under Rule 91a as lacking a legal basis; on appeal, plaintiff argues that established Texas authorities recognize duties to repair or to warn when one creates a dangerous condition and that dismissal was error (appellate review of 91a is de novo) |
Key Cases Cited
- Buchanan v. Rose, 159 S.W.2d 109 (Tex. 1942) (one who creates a dangerous situation on a public way must warn or be responsible for consequences)
- Abalos v. Oil Development Co. of Texas, 544 S.W.2d 627 (Tex. 1976) (recognition of duties arising from creation of dangerous conditions)
- SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Doe, 903 S.W.2d 347 (Tex. 1995) (discusses duty principles in Texas negligence law)
- Wooley v. Schaffer, 447 S.W.3d 71 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014) (Rule 91a standard: pleadings are construed liberally and factual allegations taken as true on dismissal)
- Dailey v. Thorpe, 445 S.W.3d 785 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2014) (cited for de novo review of Rule 91a dismissals)