A civil lawsuit called up for trial Aug. 17 was dismissed for want of prosecution after neither the plaintiff nor the defendants in the case appeared.
In September 2009, plaintiff Kenneth Sheppard filed a $5 million lawsuit against the city of Beaumont claiming it took too long to provide him with an incident report after a hit-and-run automobile collision.
The city was dismissed from the case in 2010.
The case was called up for trial on Aug. 17 for the suit’s remaining defendants but none of the parties showed, leading Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, to dismiss the case, according to a courthouse official.
According to the original petition, on Sept. 30, 2007, Sheppard was returning home when he was struck by a F-250 Ford truck backing out onto into the intersection of 11th Street and the Interstate 10 feeder road.
The truck totaled Sheppard's vehicle and then fled the scene, he alleged.
The Beaumont Police Department allegedly failed to provide him with an incident report within the law required 10 days, which Sheppard said kept him from seeking medical attention, according to the original petition.
Sheppard claimed in his suit a lack of automobile insurance hindered him from seeking medical attention until he obtained the report.
In the eight months it took BPD to provide him with the report, Sheppard claims he racked up $5 million in damages, according to the original petition.
Case No. E185-008