Insurer sues after policyholder's truck damaged in refinery entrance gate

GALVESTON - Great American Insurance Co. is suing Diamond Hydraulics Inc. after one of its policyholders sustained damages to his vehicle at a local plant last year.

According to a lawsuit filed Sept. 29 in Galveston County Court at Law No. 2, a maintenance technician for Diamond who was repairing a gate at the Conoco Phillips facility caused the gate to rise into Alfredo Lim's insured 2003 Kenworth W900 truck on Sept. 13, 2010.

The original petition shows Lim was entering the premises when the alleged incident "unexpectedly" occurred.

"As a result of the incident, the vehicle was placed into a collision repair shop to repair the damage caused by the defendant's actions," the suit says.

Diamond is faulted for failing to timely stop the gate from rising, failing to maintain a proper lookout, failing to maintain proper control over the gate, failing to control the gate to avoid a collision with a nearby vehicle, failing to keep the gate in good repair, failing to exercise ordinary care in the conduct of its work, failing to warn of the rising gate and signal an intention to lift the gate and lifting the gate too suddenly.

Great American invokes the writ of respondeat superior and seeks $4,750 in damages and a jury trial.

The insurer is represented by Espey & Associates, and the case has been assigned to Galveston County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Barbara Roberts.

Cause No. 66,111