HOUSTON - The 14th Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trial court’s decision to deny the Texas Department of Transportation’s plea to the jurisdiction in a lawsuit alleging a new highway surface was very slick and caused a vehicle to spin out.
In 2018, Amrinder Singh filed suit against TxDOT, alleging that on Dec. 4, 2016, he was traveling on a stretch of US Highway 290 that had recently been rebuilt by TxDOT. Singh alleged that the new surface was very slick when wet, and it had been raining. The vehicle he was driving spun out due to the slick surface, struck the barrier on the left side of the highway and rolled over. Singh claims that his vehicle was totaled in the crash and he suffered serious injuries.
According to the crash report, six other spin out crashes occurred in the same area on the same day, states the 14th Court's Aug. 11 opinion.
Court records show TxDOT filed a combination plea to the jurisdiction, motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment, asserting Singh had failed to establish timely notice to TxDOT as required by the Texas Torts Claim Act.
The trial court denied the plea and TxDOT appealed, arguing that the trial court erred.
The 14th Court affirmed the trial court’s order denying TxDOT’s plea to the jurisdiction, motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment.
“In summary, there is some evidence that … TxDOT had subjective awareness that Amrinder Singh … was involved in an automobile accident … a section of the highway that TxDOT had recently rebuilt,” the opinion states. “In other words, TxDOT knew the day after Singh’s accident that property damage and possible injury had occurred, TxDOT was allegedly at fault, and Singh was the individual involved.”
Case No. 14-20-00694-CV