Lewis v. Taylor
| Decision Date | 24 October 1960 |
| Docket Number | No. 6993,6993 |
| Citation | 339 S.W.2d 917 |
| Parties | Quentin A. LEWIS, Appellant, v. R. W. TAYLOR, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Culton, Morgan, Britain & White, Amarillo, for appellant.
Hill & Adkins, Shamrock, for appellee.
This is a venue case. Appellee, R. W. Taylor, brought this suit in Gray County, against Quentin A. Lewis for damages to his trailer home resulting from a metal canopy erected as a covering for appellant's gasoline pumps, blowing off its support and onto appellee's trailer adjoining appellant's filling station, reducing the trailer house and most of its contents to junk.
Appellant filed his plea of privilege to be sued in Potter County, the county of his residence. The plea was duly controverted and suit sought to be retained in Gray County, where the damages occurred, under Exception 9a to Art. 1995, Vernon's Ann.Tex.Civ.St.
The only point of error asserted is that there was not sufficient evidence introduced to raise an issue that an act or omission of negligence was committed by appellant, his servant, agent or representative acting within the scope of his employment in the county where suit was filed.
Appellant was alleged to be guilty of negligence in the following particulars:
A. In his failure to provide adequate support for canopies containing so much weight.
B. Failure to provide adequate support for canopies of such size and dimensions as these canopies.
C. Failure to support and strengthen the canopies with some type of guy-wires.
D. In constructing such canopies in a manner that the entire west side would be exposed to west winds.
E. In not having more support posts for the canopies than those provided.
F. In not fastening such canopies to the support posts with bigger, stronger and more bolts than the four, one-half inch bolts used on each side.
G. In failure to weld the support beams to the tops of the support posts.
H. In failure to adequately fasten the support posts to the ground in a manner so that each post would not vibrate when wind was blowing against the canopy.
I. In failure to have the nuts on the bolts, at the bottom of the support posts, tight enough that the posts would not shake and vibrate when wind was blowing against the canopies.
Such negligent acts were alleged to have been, singularly and collectively, the proximate causes of the damages sustained.
Appellee was in another state ill at the time of the hearing upon the plea of privilege and the only witness used was claude Simmons, his brother-in-law. His testimony was that he owned a place of business in the same block with the Taylor filling station and to the east thereof; that he observed the manner of construction of the canopies and in a few days after the fellows who put them up and from whom appellant bought them were gone, he advised appellant he was afraid of the canopies. 'I am afraid they are going to come off and come into my place.'
Appellant admitted in effect that the construction did not look good but stated that he had accepted them and paid for them. The witness then suggested that he get him some more posts. Each canopy had only two posts bolted to...
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Strakos v. Gehring
...while still performing highway work, owes a duty of care to the traveling public. Gehring calls our attention to Lewis v. Taylor, Tex.Civ.App., 339 S.W.2d 917, no wr. hist. However, the issue there involved was whether the employer was responsible for injuries to a third person caused by de......