Dallas Independent School District v. Porter
Texas Court of Appeals
759 S.W.2d 454 (1988)
- Written by Kelsey Libby, JD
Facts
Woodrow Porter Jr. was a janitor for the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) (defendant). Porter lived across the street from the elementary school where he worked. On April 26, 1978, Porter was working at the school when he saw a child, later identified as Mondell Washington, near Porter’s car parked at his house. Thinking that Washington was committing vandalism, Porter went across the street and spanked Washington. Later that day, Washington’s grandmother arrived at the school and requested to speak to Porter. Porter was called into his supervisor’s office for a meeting with Washington’s grandmother, which devolved into a heated argument. The supervisor sent Porter back to work. Later, Washington’s grandmother left the office, found Porter, and shot and killed him. Porter’s widow (plaintiff) sued to recover death benefits under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. The trial court entered judgment in favor of Porter’s widow. DISD appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McKay, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 789,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
