Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Traxler

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff in a personal injury case. We reverse the trial court‟s judgment and render judgment that appellee take nothing.

Appellee Nicholas Traxler sued appellant Entergy Gulf States, Inc. (“Entergy”) for personal injuries Traxler allegedly sustained when, while riding on top of a house that was being moved along a street in Bridge City, Texas, he made contact with a power line and fell from the top of the house. Traxler asserted causes of action for general negligence and negligence per se. Specifically, Traxler complained that Entergy was negligent per se because it violated section 181.045 of the Texas Utilities Code, that Entergy was negligent “in the construction, maintenance[,] and inspection of its line and pole” and that Entergy was “negligent in its instructions to local home movers.” See TEX. UTIL. CODE ANN. § 181.045 (Vernon 2007). Traxler did not assert that Entergy failed to properly warn of the known potential danger, and in his appellate brief, Traxler asserts that because “Entergy‟s liability is not based on a failure to warn[,] . . . Entergy‟s assertion [on appeal] that it has no duty to warn of known dangers is irrelevant to any issue in this case.”