Summary
adopting the court of civil appeals opinion as interpreted in light of Fidelity Union Ins. Co. v. Hutchins, 134 Tex. 268, 133 S.W.2d 105
Summary of this case from Cross v. Old Republic Sur. Co.Opinion
App. No. 24,650.
Decided January 10, 1940.
Special Issues — Measure of Damages — Appeal and Error.
In dismissing an application for writ of error for want of jurisdiction — Correct Judgment, the Supreme Court does not approve the holding by the Court of Civil Appeals that the trial court should have sustained an objection made to a special issue because of its failure to give to the jury the element of expense to which plaintiff would be subjected in maintaining deceased during her natural life, if she had lived.
Error to the Court of Civil Appeals for the Third District, in an appeal from Bell County.
Suit by S.E. Lane against the Community Natural Gas Company to recover damages for the death of his wife, Mrs. Emma Lane, caused by the explosion of gas in the apartment where they lived in Belton, Texas, alleging that in making the connection in an adjoining apartment the servants and employees of the gas company had failed to inspect the apartment in which plaintiff and his wife lived, and failed to close connections between the two apartments, but permitted gas to escape into their apartment. A judgment for the plaintiff was reversed by the Court of Civil Appeals, which rendered judgment in favor of the gas company, 97 S.W.2d 703, and upon writ of error to the Supreme Court, the judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals was reversed and the cause remanded to that court for it to pass upon other assignments of error, 133 Tex. 128, 123 S.W.2d 639. The Court of Civil Appeals in reconsidering the cause and in passing upon the remaining assignments of error, reversed the judgment of the trial court and remanded the cause, 133 S.W.2d 200, and plaintiff has again brought the cause to the Supreme Court upon a writ of error.
Application for writ of error dismissed for want of jurisdiction — Correct Judgment.
Ned Elnor Moore and DeWitt Bowmer, both of Temple, for plaintiff in error.
Thompson, Knight, Baker, Harris Wright and Pinkney Grissom, all of Dallas, and Cox Brown, and W.R. Brown, all of Temple, for defendant in error.
The application for writ of error is dismissed for want of jurisdiction — correct judgment. In entering such order we do not approve the holding of the Court of Civil Appeals that the trial court should have sustained an objection made to the special issue upon the amount of recovery for its failure "to give the jury the elements of expense to which the plaintiff would be subjected during her lifetime in providing for her maintenance and support, probably illness or other proper and natural items of expense in connection therewith." We do not believe that the holding is supported by the authority cited for it.
Opinion adopted by the Supreme Court January 10, 1940.