Madisonville Independent School District v. Kyle
Cases that cite this one
26 later published cases cite this decision. The 25 that cite it most often are listed here.
- Harris County Hospital District v. Estrada (Tex. App. 1993)
- Oldham v. Thomas (Tex. App. 1993)
- Thomas v. Oldham (Tex. 1995)
- Christian v. Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co. (Tex. App. 1993)
- Heyer v. North East Independent School District (Tex. App. 1987)
- Leslie Vandewater, Individually and as Next Friend of Jordan Vandewater, a Minor v. American General Fire and Casualty Company (Tex. App. 1995)
- Texas Department of Transportation v. Ramming (Tex. App. 1993)
- White v. Annis (Tex. App. 1993)
- City of Bedford v. Schattman (Tex. App. 1989)
- Whipple v. Deltscheff (Tex. App. 1987)
- McGovern v. Williams (Tex. 1987)
- Cavnar v. Quality Control Parking, Inc. (Tex. 1985)
- Gulf States Utilities Co. v. Reed (Tex. App. 1983)
- Vandewater v. American General Fire & Casualty Co. (Tex. App. 1995)
- Gibson v. Spinks (Tex. App. 1994)
- Harris County v. White (Tex. App. 1992)
- Guaranty National Insurance Co. v. The North River Insurance Company (5th Cir. 1990)
- Guaranty National Insurance v. North River Insurance (5th Cir. 1990)
- Rose v. Doctors Hospital Facilities (Tex. App. 1987)
- Cradoct v. Employers Casualty Co. (Tex. App. 1987)
- Ford Motor Co. v. Durrill (Tex. App. 1986)
- DeSoto v. Matthews (Tex. App. 1986)
- City of Austin v. Davis (Tex. App. 1985)
- Oss v. Gentry (District Court, W.D. Texas 1985)
- Cavnar v. Quality Control Parking, Inc. (Tex. App. 1984)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
This is a wrongful death suit brought by Judy Gail Kyle and Lewis J. Smith, natural parents of Jimmy J. Smith, against Madi-sonville Independent School District (“M.I. S.D.”) and L.P. Polk. Jimmy was exiting a school bus and was crossing the street to his home when he was struck by a car and severely injured. He died a few hours later. After a jury trial, the trial court rendered judgment for Ms. Kyle and Mr. Smith for $184,023.10, which included damages for pecuniary loss, loss of companionship and society, and past and future mental anguish resulting from their son’s death. 1 The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that Texas law did not allow damages in a wrongful death case for loss of companionship and society and for past and future mental anguish. Tex.R. Civ.P. 452. We reverse the judgment of the court of appeals without oral argument and reform the judgment of the trial court. Tex.R.Civ.P. 483. As reformed, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
In Sanchez v. Schindler, 651 S.W.2d 249 (1983), we held that the proper measure of damages for the death of a child included loss of companionship and society and past and future mental anguish. Additionally, we held that the opinion was to apply to “all future causes as well as those still in the judicial process.” Id. at 254. Since this cause was in the judicial process when Sanchez was delivered, Ms. Kyle and Mr. Smith may recover for loss of companionship and society and mental anguish.
However, although we hold that Ms. Kyle and Mr. Smith may recover the damages described above, we also sustain M.I.S.D.’s contention that the trial court erred in entering judgment against them for an amount greater than the $100,000 limit provided by section 3 of the Tort Claims Act, Texas Revised Civil Statutes Annotated article 6252-19. The school district’s liability is limited to $100,000 and the amount of recovery is to be apportioned according to the proportionate share of each claimant to the total amount awarded to all claimants against the school district. See City of Austin v. Cooksey, 570 S.W.2d 386 (Tex. 1978).
At trial, Ms. Kyle was awarded $124,-023.10 and Mr. Smith was awarded $60,000. Since M.I.S.D. is jointly and severally liable up to $100,000, we limit the recovery from M.I.S.D. to $67,395.40 for Ms. Kyle and $32,-604.60 for Mr. Smith. All other defendants remain jointly and severally liable for the entire amount of the judgment.
For the reasons stated, the judgment of the court of appeals is reversed. The judgment of the trial court is reformed and, as reformed, is affirmed.
. Judgment was rendered on the verdict awarding Ms. Kyle and Mr. Smith their damages against M.I.S.D., L.P. Polk, Jackie McGilbra and Ludie Turner, jointly and severally. L.P. Polk was the driver of the school bus. The car that struck Jimmy was owned by Ludie Turner and driven by Jackie McGilbra. M.I.S.D. and Polk brought this appeal. Ms. McGilbra and Ms. Turner did not appeal.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.