American Industries Life Insurance Co. v. Ruvalcaba
Texas Court of Appeals
64 S.W.3d 126 (2001)
- Written by Nicholas Decoster, JD
Facts
Two-year-old Johnathan Ruvalcaba and his mother, Maribel Ruvalcaba (plaintiff), visited an office building where Johnathan’s father, Jose Ruvalcaba (plaintiff), worked, intending to take Jose to lunch. One of the building’s staircases had an open handrail that violated the building code. While Johnathan and Maribel were descending the staircase, Johnathan slipped through the handrail and fell, landing on his head. Johnathan suffered permanent brain damage. Jose and Maribel (collectively, the Ruvalcabas) filed a premises-liability suit against the building’s owner, American Industries Life Insurance Company (American) (defendant), which leased office space to the company where Jose worked. The trial court determined that American was not grossly negligent but deemed Johnathan to be an invitee, meaning that gross negligence was not necessary for recovery. The court awarded damages of $8,384,657.52 to the Ruvalcabas. American appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Anderson, J.)
Dissent (Fowler, J.)
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