eBook details
- Title: Wilson v. Parks and Wildlife Department
- Author : In the Supreme Court of Texas
- Release Date : January 02, 1999
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 63 KB
Description
On Petition for Review from the Court of Appeals for the Third District of Texas Holding that the jury was not properly instructed on the elements of the plaintiffs' cause of action, the court of appeals remanded this case for a new trial in the interest of Justice under Rule 43.3(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.1 Based on what we think is the issue that should be remanded, we deny the petitions for review. Wilton and Wilford Wilson, brothers, drowned in a stretch of the Pedernales River that flooded while they were fishing. The accident occurred where the river borders on Pedernales Falls State Park, and the Wilsons' beneficiaries sued the owner of the park, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, for wrongful death and survival damages on a premises liability theory.2 As a rule, to prevail on a premises liability claim a plaintiff must prove that the defendant possessed - that is, owned, occupied, or controlled - the premises where injury occurred.3 But a party who does not own, occupy, or control premises may nevertheless owe a duty of due care if it undertakes to make the premises safe for others.4