McKnight v. Calvert
McKnight v. Calvert
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from a personal-injury lawsuit filed after a car wreck. Appellee Matthew Calvert ran a stop sign in a residential neighborhood, injuring appellant Phillip McKnight. Calvert admitted his failure to stop, but he claimed he couldn't see the sign because it was covered by trees.
McKnight and his wife, Tami Johnson, sued Calvert to recover damages caused by the accident. Calvert, in turn, designated the City of Houston and the owners of adjacent property as responsible third parties, arguing that the accident was caused by their negligent failure to maintain the sign by trimming the trees.
After all of the evidence was presented at trial, McKnight and Johnson moved for a directed verdict with respect to both the city and the neighboring homeowners. They argued that no evidence had been introduced to establish that the city or the homeowners owed any duty with respect to the stop sign. The trial court denied the motions. The jury found that Calvert, the city, and the homeowners were each negligent, allocated proportional fault to each, and awarded damages.
McKnight and Johnson raise three issues on appeal. They argue that the trial court erred by denying their directed-verdict motions and that the jury's award of zero dollars for past disfigurement was against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.
We conclude that the trial court correctly denied the motions for directed verdict. Additionally, the jury's award of zero dollars for past disfigurement was not against *451the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Background
Matthew Calvert, a resident of the United Kingdom, visited his brother in Houston. While driving near his brother's home in the Montrose neighborhood, Calvert ran a stop sign and his car collided with a car operated by Phillip McKnight. Calvert suffered no injuries, but McKnight was transported to the emergency room.
The accident occurred near the home of Thaddeus and Jennifer Coffindaffer. Calvert reported to a police officer that he had not seen the stop sign because it was obscured by a tree in the Coffindaffers' yard.
Following the accident, McKnight and his wife, Tami W. Johnson, brought a suit for damages against Calvert. Before trial, Calvert designated the City of Houston and the Coffindaffers as responsible third parties.
At trial, Calvert admitted that he ran the stop sign, but he maintained that he was not at fault because he didn't see it.
The police officer who responded to the accident testified at trial. For ten years he had worked as a policeman in the vicinity of the accident location. During that time, he had not heard of or responded to any accidents at that intersection, and he had not pulled anybody over for running that stop sign. McKnight and Johnson offered into evidence an affidavit from a custodian of records for the Houston Police Department that indicated that it did not have any "vehicle crash incident reports" involving that intersection for the five years prior to the accident. The officer further testified that the city owned the stop sign, and that "in fairness" either the city or the Coffindaffers should be responsible for making sure the stop sign was not obscured by a tree. Finally, the officer testified that the tree at issue was located in the Coffindaffers' yard.
The trial court admitted into evidence pictures of the stop sign taken immediately after the accident. Calvert's counsel asked the responding police officer to look at Defendant's Exhibit 10:
*452Counsel asked: "Now when you look over there to the right-hand side ... if you look real hard, you can see a stop sign back behind the tree, correct?" The officer responded, "Correct." Calvert's counsel then asked, "That's definitely tree branches that are in front of that stop sign, true?" Again the officer replied, "Correct." After questioning the officer about the need for trees to be trimmed over time, Calvert's counsel asked, "at some point it got big enough where it does create, at least potential restriction of visibility of this stop sign, fair?" According to the trial transcript, the officer responded, "Fairness." As indicated by the officer's testimony, the photograph depicted tree branches obscuring the stop sign. In addition, the trial evidence showed that the tree branches extended from a tree located in the Coffindaffers' yard.
A neurosurgeon testified that he performed two surgeries on McKnight in order to alleviate neck and back pain, and that the surgeries were "proximately caused" by the car accident. The neurosurgeon testified that McKnight had "degenerative condition[s]" in his back. As a result of these conditions, the surgeon determined when he first met with McKnight that he would need "some decompression." The first surgery was complicated by McKnight's body weight-he was six feet tall and weighed 325 pounds. By the time of the second surgery, McKnight had gained "like about 60-something pounds" as a result of the "sedentary lifestyle he ... had to have after the first surgery."
McKnight also testified at trial. He testified that he had "a scar" on his neck as a result of the surgery. The record does not indicate that the jury was ever shown the scar. He denied gaining 60 pounds as a result of the first surgery, contending that he had "small percentage fluctuations in weight over time."
After the close of the evidence, McKnight and Johnson moved for a directed verdict with respect to the third-party *453responsibility of both the city and the Coffindaffers. They argued that there was no evidence the city had notice of the tree covering the stop sign, and therefore it had no duty to correct the situation. They also argued that there was no evidence to support the imposition of a duty on the Coffindaffers to ensure that the tree did not obscure the stop sign. The trial court denied both motions.
The jury found that negligence by each of Calvert, the Coffindaffers, and the City of Houston "caused the occurrence in question." Regarding the "percentage of the negligence that caused or contributed to the occurrence," the jury found Calvert 33% responsible, the Coffindaffers 33% responsible, and the city 34% responsible. The jury awarded McKnight $60,000 for past and future physical pain and mental anguish, $0 for loss of future earning capacity, and $0 for past and future disfigurement. The jury awarded Johnson $15,000 for past and future loss of household services, $25,000 for loss of consortium in the past, and $0 for loss of consortium in the future.
The trial court entered judgment based on the jury's findings. McKnight and Johnson appealed.
Analysis
McKnight and Johnson raise three issues challenging the trial court's judgment. In their first two issues, they contend that the trial court erred by denying their motions for directed verdict based on the argument that no relevant duties were owed by the City of Houston or the adjacent homeowners. In their third issue, they argue that the jury's refusal to award damages for disfigurement was against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.
I. Designation of responsible third-parties
In their first and second issues, McKnight and Johnson contend that the trial court erred by denying their motions for directed verdict with respect to the designated responsible third-parties, the City of Houston and the Coffindaffers. In both issues, they argue that no evidence established that either the city or the Coffindaffers owed a duty to warn of, or to correct, the obscured condition of the stop sign.
A complaint about the denial of a motion for directed verdict is reviewed by the same standard as a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence.
To prove negligence, "evidence must be produced to establish a duty, a breach of that duty, and damages proximately caused by the breach."
A. City of Houston
McKnight and Johnson contend that the trial court erred by denying their motion for directed verdict with respect to the City of Houston. They argue that the Texas Tort Claims Act establishes the parameters of the city's duty with respect to the maintenance of stop signs and traffic signals, and that the city had to have notice that the tree obscured the stop sign in order to have had a duty to warn of or to correct the condition.
In response, Calvert argues that in order to designate the city as a responsible third party and submit a question to the jury regarding its responsibility for the accident, all he had to do was present "enough evidence to support a finding that the City of Houston was responsible for contributing to the occurrence in question and caused a portion of" the damages. As a result, he contends that he did not have to present evidence that the city had notice of the tree obscuring the stop sign.
To be entitled to a jury issue that allowed the trier of fact to determine the percentage of responsibility of each party designated as a responsible third party, Calvert had to present sufficient evidence demonstrating that the city caused or contributed "to cause in any way the harm" to McKnight and Johnson, "whether by negligent act or omission, by any defective or unreasonably dangerous product, by other conduct or activity that violates an applicable legal standard, or by any combination of these."
The Tort Claims Act waives immunity for personal injuries and deaths proximately caused by a condition or use of personal or real property if a governmental unit would, were it a private person, be liable.
Sections 101.022 and 101.060 of the Tort Claims Act, read together, establish the duty owed by the State to a plaintiff *455who asserts a premises-liability claim involving a traffic signal.
Sec. 101.022. Duty Owed: Premise and Special Defects
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (c), if a claim arises from a premise defect, the governmental unit owes to the claimant only the duty that a private person owes to a licensee on private property, unless the claimant pays for the use of the premises.
(b) The limitation of duty in this section does not apply to the duty to warn of special defects such as excavations or obstructions on highways, roads, or streets or to the duty to warn of the absence, condition, or malfunction of traffic signs, signals, or warning devices as is required by Section 101.060.
(c) If a claim arises from a premise defect on a toll highway, road, or street, the governmental unit owes to the claimant only the duty that a private person owes to a licensee on private property.
Sec. 101.060. Traffic and Road Control Devices
(a) This chapter does not apply to a claim arising from:
....
(2) the absence, condition, or malfunction of a traffic or road sign, signal, or warning device unless the absence, condition, or malfunction is not corrected by the responsible governmental unit within a reasonable time after notice ...
....
Thus, a governmental unit owes a duty to warn of the defective condition of a traffic or road sign when the responsible governmental unit has not corrected the condition within a reasonable time after notice.
Section 101.060(a)(2) requires "notice" of the relevant absence, condition, or malfunction. This "notice" can be "actual" or "constructive."
There is sufficient evidence to raise a question of fact as to whether the condition had existed for such a length of time that City, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have discovered it. The photographs introduced in evidence showed that the bushes were scraggly, indicating that they had not been trimmed in some time. One of the residents in the area testified that the bushes had been there as long as she could remember. The evidence also showed that various police officers of the City, while on routine patrol, drove through the intersection, driving in an easterly direction, several times a month.22
The evidence in this case included photographs showing tree limbs hanging down and obscuring the stop sign, which supports an inference that the limbs had not been trimmed in some time.
As a result, we conclude that sufficient evidence was admitted at trial to permit a rational factfinder to conclude that the city had reason to know, i.e. notice, of the obscured condition of the stop sign.
B. The Coffindaffers
McKnight and Johnson also contend that the trial court erred by denying their motion for directed verdict with respect to the Coffindaffers' negligence. In their motion, they argued that there was no evidence that the Coffindaffers "did anything wrong" or that "there was any negligence *457on their part." On appeal, McKnight and Johnson contend that there was "no evidence presented that the Coffindaffers occupied the land where the stop sign was erected," and therefore they owed no duty as owners or occupiers of land "abutting a highway." Thus, they argue that the trial court erred by denying their motion for directed verdict and submitting a jury question about the Coffindaffers' negligence.
"The owner or occupant of premises abutting a highway has a duty to exercise reasonable care not to jeopardize or endanger the safety of persons using the highway as a means of passage or travel."
*458Because the Coffindaffers did not own the stop-sign location, McKnight and Johnson also emphasize that their duty did not extend beyond the limits of the premises owners' control.
Photographs were introduced which indicated that tree branches obscured the stop sign. The testimony of the police officer who responded to the accident confirmed that tree branches obscured the stop sign. Additionally, the police officer testified that the tree at issue was in the yard of a homeowner named Coffindaffer. McKnight and Johnson did not object to the officer's testimony about the ownership of the property where the tree was located. Further, the photographs indicated that the tree branches grew from the Coffindaffers' yard and extended in front of the stop sign.
Although there was no testimony indicating that the Coffindaffers owned the stop sign or the land immediately touching the street, the evidence did suggest that they owned the property where the tree was located. The evidence also established that the tree reached out from that property and obscured the stop sign. An owner of property where a tree is located is bound by the duty of owners or occupiers of premises abutting a highway if the tree is in such a position that it could endanger the safety of persons using the highway.
The evidence established that the Coffindaffers owned property where a tree was located, and the tree could endanger the safety of persons using a public road by obscuring a stop sign. We conclude that sufficient evidence was introduced to support the conclusion that the Coffindaffers owed the duty, as owners or occupiers of premises in close proximity to a public road, to exercise reasonable care to avoid endangering the safety of persons using the road for travel.
II. Disfigurement damages
In their third issue, McKnight and Johnson argue that the evidence was factually insufficient to support an award of zero damages for past disfigurement.
When a party attacks the factual sufficiency of an adverse finding on an issue on which it has the burden of proof, it must demonstrate on appeal that the adverse finding is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.
*459Jury findings must be accorded great deference.
"Disfigurement has been defined as that which impairs or injures the beauty, symmetry, or appearance of a person or thing; that which renders unsightly, misshapen or imperfect, or deforms in some manner."
"When there is conflicting evidence about the severity of the injuries or about whether the injuries were caused by the collision, the jury has the discretion to resolve the conflicts, determine which version of the evidence to accept, and refuse to award damages."
McKnight and Johnson argue that they presented "undisputed" evidence that McKnight suffered "disfiguring scarring" and "substantial weight gain" due to the surgery proximately caused by the collision. As a result, they contend that the jury was not at liberty to award zero damages for past disfigurement.
The evidence included the testimony of a neurosurgeon who testified that he performed two surgeries on McKnight in order to alleviate neck and back pain. He also testified that the surgeries were "proximately caused" by the accident. McKnight then testified that he has "a scar" on his neck as a result of the surgery. The record does not indicate that the jury was ever shown the scar. In addition to the testimony regarding the scarring, the neurosurgeon discussed how McKnight gained 60 pounds as a result of his sedentary lifestyle following the first surgery.
On cross-examination, the neurosurgeon testified that McKnight had "degenerative condition[s]" in his back that began prior to the accident. As a result of these conditions, the surgeon determined when he *460first met with McKnight that he would need "some decompression." Further, with respect to his weight gain, McKnight testified that he did not gain 60 pounds as a result of the first surgery.
McKnight undisputedly had surgery that resulted in a scar. But the testimony of the neurosurgeon on cross-examination regarding the fact that McKnight had "degenerative condition[s]" in his back prior to the accident and his determination that "some decompression" was needed undermined McKnight's contention that the accident was the proximate cause of his need to undergo surgery.
Conclusion
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.004.
City of Keller v. Wilson ,
King Ranch, Inc. v. Chapman ,
Werner v. Colwell ,
Centeq Realty, Inc. v. Siegler ,
Van Horn v. Chambers ,
See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.060(a)(2).
Sipes ,
Lorig v. City of Mission ,
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 101.022(b), 101.060(a)(2) ; City of Austin v. Lamas ,
Lorig ,
See, e.g. , Tex. Dep't of Transp. v. Olivares ,
Nguyen v. Chapa ,
Bryan A. Garner , Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage 512 (3d ed. 2011) (observing that the "phrase constructive knowledge is equivalent to-and inferior to-notice ").
See Sampson v. Univ. of Tex. at Austin ,
See, e.g. , Robnett v. City of Big Spring ,
See
See Lamas ,
See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.060(a)(2) ; Kenneally ,
Alamo Nat'l Bank v. Kraus ,
Id. at 86.
See Alamo Nat'l Bank ,
W. Page Keeton et al. , Prosser & Keeton on Torts § 57, at 389 (5th ed. 1984). "The one important limitation upon the responsibility of the possessor of land to those outside of his premises has been the traditional rule, of both the English and the American courts, that he is under no affirmative duty to remedy conditions of purely natural origin upon his land, although they may be highly dangerous or inconvenient to his neighbors."Id. at 390. This limitation has not been uniformly applied, such as in the circumstance of urban areas, like the Montrose neighborhood, in which a duty has been imposed on landowners to exercise reasonable care to make sure that their trees are safe. See
See Dixon v. Hous. Raceway Park, Inc. ,
See Zapata ,
See Alamo Nat'l Bank ,
See City of Keller ,
Dow Chem. Co. v. Francis ,
Dow Chem. ,
See Herbert v. Herbert ,
See Golden Eagle Archery, Inc. v. Jackson ,
City of Keller ,
See
Goldman v. Torres ,
Golden Eagle Archery ,
Figueroa v. Davis ,
Huston v. United Parcel Serv., Inc. ,
See Huston ,
Huston ,
See
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.