Gutierrez v. Collins
| Decision Date | 19 July 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. 6747,6747 |
| Citation | 570 S.W.2d 101 |
| Parties | Esperanza GUTIERREZ, Appellant, v. Edward R. COLLINS, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Plaintiff brought suit in El Paso for her damages for personal injuries received in an automobile accident that occurred in Zaragosa, State of Chihuahua, Mexico. This appeal is from the action of the trial Court in sustaining the Defendant's plea to the jurisdiction of the Court because of the dissimilarity of the Mexican laws. We affirm.
Esperanza Gutierrez alleged that, while riding as a passenger in an automobile, she was struck by a vehicle which was driven by the Defendant Edward R. Collins. She alleged that both she and the Defendant were residents of El Paso, and that the accident occurred December 25, 1973, on a public street in Zaragosa, State of Chihuahua, Republic of Mexico, as the result of the negligence of the Defendant. She further alleged that as a result of her injuries, she suffered pain and suffering and a loss of earning capacity, and, according to supplemental pleadings, she cited various Articles of the Mexican Labor Law Section of the Federal Code of the Republic of Mexico under which her loss of wages could be computed, and an Article of the Civil Code of the State of Chihuahua by which she would be entitled to compensation as moral reparations which would be in lieu of damages for her pain and suffering. The Defendant filed his plea to the jurisdiction and alleged that the laws of the State of Chihuahua and of the Republic of Mexico were so dissimilar to the laws of this State that they could not be enforced, and that the cause of action should be dismissed. Hearing was held on the motion to dismiss, and the Defendant there offered the testimony of a practicing attorney from Juarez, Mexico, who qualified as an expert and who described the applicable laws of the Republic of Mexico and the State of Chihuahua which would control the recovery for loss of wages and for moral reparations. As pointed out, the trial Court sustained the Defendant's plea to the jurisdiction and dismissed the cause of action.
The Plaintiff's first point is that the Court erred in permitting the testimony of the Mexican attorney as proof of the statutory laws of Mexico covering the damages recoverable, the argument being made that such laws of another nation may not be proved by the parol testimony of lawyers. Garza v. Greyhound Lines, Inc., 418 S.W.2d 595 (Tex.Civ.App. San Antonio 1967, no writ); Hunter v. West, 293 S.W.2d 686 (Tex.Civ.App. San Antonio 1956, no writ). The point is overruled as the statement of facts notes that two of the Defendant's exhibits were the Mexican Labor Law Volume and the Civil Code and Code of Civil Procedure for the State of Chihuahua, and they were a part of the record before the trial Court. They are not a part of the present statement of facts. They were considered by the trial Court without objection. In the absence...
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Gutierrez v. Collins
...the dissimilarity doctrine. The trial court dismissed petitioner's case for want of jurisdiction. The court of civil appeals affirmed. 570 S.W.2d 101. Having carefully considered the matter, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and the court of civil appeals. This cause is remanded t......
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Robertson v. McKnight's Estate, 1269
...1975 amendments do not have retroactive effect, as appellants contend. This exact question was presented in Gutierrez v. Collins, 570 S.W.2d 101, 103 (Tex.Civ.App. El Paso 1978) affirmed 583 S.W.2d 312 (Tex.1979); and in Cass v. Estate of Robert E. McFarland, 564 S.W.2d 107, 110 (Tex.Civ.Ap......