Boerjan v. Rodriguez

A family from Mexico hired Jose Marciel, a “coyote,” to transport them to Houston or New Orleans. Marciel collected the family at a house in Texas, and, before dawn, arrived at the private Jones Ranch. An employee of the ranch operator stopped Maciel to ask why he had entered the property, after which Maciel fled at high speed. The vehicle rolled over, killing the family. Respondents, the deceased mother’s parents, sued the ranch’s operators and an employee (collectively, Petitioners), alleging wrongful death claims, including negligence and gross negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment for Petitioners. The court of appeals reversed in part. The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part, holding (1) the trial court erred in granting a traditional summary judgment based on the common law unlawful acts doctrine because the statutory comparative responsibility scheme abrogated this doctrine; (2) a land occupier owes only a duty to avoid injuring a trespasser wilfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence, and therefore, Respondents’ claim for simple negligence must fail as a matter of law; and (3) as to gross negligence, the trial court properly granted a no-evidence summary judgment motion because Respondents failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact. View "Boerjan v. Rodriguez" on Justia Law