Edwards v. Neely Oil, Inc.
| Decision Date | 12 September 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 8780,8780 |
| Citation | 556 S.W.2d 114 |
| Parties | Patricia L. EDWARDS, Individually and as next friend of Cynthia Edwards and John Edwards, Appellants, v. NEELY OIL, INC., Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
McCreary & Weir, Robert C. McCreary, Austin, for appellants.
Gibson, Ochsner, Adkins, Harlan & Hankins, Joe Harlan, Amarillo, for appellee.
This is a wrongful death action. Plaintiff Patricia L. Edwards sued Neely Oil, Inc. and other defendants individually and as next friend of her two minor children for the alleged wrongful death of her husband, John W. Edwards. Plaintiff has appealed from the granting of a summary judgment for Neely Oil, Inc. Affirmed.
In a summary judgment proceeding, the question is not whether the summary judgment proof raises fact issues with reference to essential elements of a cause of action, but whether the summary judgment proof establishes as a matter of law that there is no genuine issue of fact as to one or more of the essential elements of the plaintiff's cause of action. The burden of proof is on the movant, and all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact are resolved against him. All conflicts in the evidence are disregarded, and the evidence which tends to support the position of the party opposing the motion is accepted as true. Farley v. Prudential Insurance Company, 480 S.W.2d 176, 178 (Tex.1972).
In the case before us, Neely Oil, Inc., formerly The Plains Lubricating Company, is a branded jobber of defendant Chevron, i. e., a wholesale distributor, buying gasoline from Chevron and selling it to their customers. Defendant Don W. Morgan leased a tract of land near Adrian, Texas, to Plains Lubricating Company. Plains, in turn, leased the land back to Morgan under a lease whereby Morgan agreed to sell Plains' petroleum and allied products. As a part of the transaction Plains gave Morgan an old service station building which Morgan later moved onto the property at his own expense. The building had electric wall heaters in the restrooms at the time Morgan moved it to Adrian. After moving the building, Morgan converted the heating system to propane gas, using little space heaters in the restrooms. The propane was supplied by Loveless Oil Company which owned the propane tank. Morgan later subleased the station by an oral agreement to defendant Harold Whaley who was to pay Morgan 2cents a gallon for the gasoline sold.
On June 29, 1974, while Whaley was operating the station, Edwards, plaintiff's husband, stopped at the service station. While his car was being serviced, he went into the men's restroom. An explosion occurred in this restroom, causing the injuries from which Edwards later died. Plaintiff alleges that the death was caused by defendant's failure to furnish safe facilities, failure to inspect the restroom facilities,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Exxon Corp. v. Tidwell
...1941); O'Neill v. Startex Petroleum, Inc., 715 S.W.2d 802 (Tex.App.--Austin 1986, no writ); Edwards v. Neely Oil, Inc., 556 S.W.2d 114 (Tex.Civ.App.--Amarillo 1977, writ ref'd n.r.e.); Beckham v. Exxon Corp., 539 S.W.2d 217 (Tex.Civ.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1976, no writ); Willman v. Texac......
-
O'Neill v. Startex Petroleum, Inc.
...See also Texas Co. v. Freer, 151 S.W.2d 907 (Tex.Civ.App.1941, writ dism'd judgt corr.). But see Edwards v. Neely Oil, Inc., 556 S.W.2d 114 (Tex.Civ.App.1977, writ ref'd n.r.e.); Willman v. Texaco, Inc., 535 S.W.2d 774 (Tex.Civ.App.1976, writ ref'd In Daniels v. Shell Oil Company, 485 S.W.2......
-
CHAPTER 5 REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES IN THE PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT—THE PURCHASER'S PERSPECTIVE
...Bruce N. Lemons, Parthy B. Evans and Sasha Cobb in the preparation of this paper. [1] See generally Edwards v. Neely Oil, Inc., 556 S.W.2d 114 (Tex. Civ. App. 1977). [2] See generally Bell v. Protheroe, 190 Okl. 562, 188 P.2d 868 (1948); Murphy v. Sills, 268 S.W.2d 296 (Tex. Civ. App. 1953)......