HOUSTON – The son of Joel Osteen was interacting with his cell phone right before he rear-ended another vehicle, sending its occupants to the hospital, court records state.
Back in June 2018, Tony Tran and Quy Vu filed a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million in damages against Joel and Victoria Osteen, along with their son Jonathan Osteen.
While court records show notices of non-suits have been filed for Joel and Victoria, the litigation is still proceeding against Jonathan and that a trial has been set for August.
Court records also show that the parties are still in disagreement over which experts should be allowed to testify at trial.
According to the lawsuit, on Aug. 4, 2016, Tran and Vu were traveling southbound on State Highway 35, a two-lane roadway without a turn lane. Tran activated his left-turn signal and brought his vehicle to a stop in order to make a left-hand turn onto St. Joseph Street. Around the same time, Jonathan Emerson Osteen was operating his vehicle and travelling southbound toward them when suddenly he rear-ending them.
The force of the collision crumpled the rear end of the plaintiffs’ vehicle. They were immediately taken to Palacios Community Medical Center in an ambulance from the scene of the collision.
“At the time of the collision Defendant Jonathan Emerson Osteen was a distracted and inattentive driver,” the suit states. “Defendant was distracted by the confluence of music, cellular telephone usage and fatigue, yet he was on the road negligently conducting his vehicle in public roadways all the same.”
Leading up to the collision, Osteen made no effort to avoid the collision, because he was not paying attention to the road, and traffic conditions ahead of him, the suit alleges.
“There were no skid marks leading up to Plaintiffs’ vehicle, indicating Defendant’s failure to maintain lookout, and his failure to attempt to avoid the collision,” the suit states.
“The Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report indicates that Defendant’s failure to control speed was the sole contributing factor in the collision, initiated by Defendant, which forms the basis of this complaint.”
The suit further alleges that Jonathan was acting in the furtherance of Lakewood Church at the time of the incident.
The plaintiffs are alleging gross negligence and seeking damages for their pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, impairment, medical expenses, lost wages and property damage.
They are represented by Houston attorneys Anthony Pusch and Chi-Hung David Nguyen of the Pusch & Nguyen Law Firm.
Filed in Harris County District Court, case No. 2018-39812