A fatal road-rage encounter, an autistic teen who choked to death and an allegedly botched personal injury lawsuit are among the topics in new cases of note in Southeast Texas.
Elizabeth Juarez, et al., v. Eduardo Gomez, Jr.
Harris County District Court, Feb. 12
Juarez sues over the death of Juan Gerardo Banda Reyes, who was shot and killed by then-17-year-old Eduardo Gomez in May 2023. The lawsuit was filed weeks after the Harris County District Attorney's Office dropped a murder charge against Gomez, due to insufficient evidence.
Gomez was charged with shooting Reyes during a traffic-related argument. He said he shot Reyes out of fear after Reyes exited his truck and walked quickly towards him, though a witness disputed that, according to ABC13.
The new lawsuit seeks more than $1 million and makes a claim for wrongful death.
The two pulled over on the 1200 block of Interstate 45 South in Houston after a confrontation.
"Decedent exited his vehicle and attempted to talk to the defendant Eduardo Gomez, Jr.," the lawsuit says. "Without warning or provocation, Defendant shot and killed (Reyes) (and) while fleeing the scene of the crime, Defendant violently struck Decedent with his automobile."
Andrew Poulis of Herrman & Herrman in Corpus Christi represents the plaintiff.
Laura Romo, et al., v. Spring Branch Independent School District, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Feb. 6
A child known as S.R. in court documents had severe autism and Williams-Beuren syndrome and was known to chew objects around him, the lawsuit against Spring Branch ISD, Soliant Health and Jamila Tressie Spencer says.
Spring Branch ISD is accused of failing to have a formal policy on the disposal of rubber gloves that were used to help S.R. and his classmates.
"As should be obvious, this was a mortal and reckless oversight by SBISD," the lawsuit says.
On Feb. 6, 2023, which was his 15th birthday, S.R. was unsupervised and found a discarded rubber globe. He placed it in his mouth and began to choke.
Attempts at CPR were unsuccessful, and S.R. was in a coma for two days until he died. The school district was aware of multiple other incidents through the years, one of which put S.R. in the hospital after he choked on a binder clip.
The problem was so well-known, in fact, that S.R.'s mother gave him a chewing device that she attached to a lanyard around his neck.
Martin Cirkiel of Cirkiel Law is among the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
William and Susan Schulze v. Bruera Law Firm, et al.
Harris County District Court, Jan. 30.
Other defendants include Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, which represented the Schulzes, along with Bruera Law Firm, in a car accident lawsuit.
The lawyers allegedly mishandled their case, which was dismissed by the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Beaumont in March 2024. The trial judge in Montgomery County had imposed a "death penalty" sanction for the lawyers' failure to comply with a scheduling order.
The sanction excluded the testimony of the surgeon who operated on William after the car wreck. The order that was violated required lawyers to designate the pages and lines of deposition testimony they intended to offer into evidence two weeks before trial, but the Schulzes' lawyers didn't do so until the day of trial.
Without the surgeon's testimony, the Schulzes couldn't prove what injuries were caused by the wreck. They now sue their lawyers for legal malpractice.
Cecilia Rodriguez v. Union Pacific Railroad, et al.
Harris County District Court, Jan. 27.
It is the second time Rodriguez, as representative of the Estate of Sergio Rodriguez, has filed suit against Union Pacific.
Reports say Rodriguez, 15, was about one-fifth of a mile from where caution arms operate when he tried to cross tracks near Milby High School in December.
Rodriguez was struck and killed by a train when trying to cross the tracks to make it to class, a frequent habit of other students at Milby. Union Pacific plans to build a pedestrian bridge.
The lawsuit says Union Pacific staff failed to sound the train's horn prior to striking Rodriguez, in violation of state and federal regulations. It also alleges the train was operated at an excessive and unreasonable speed, without a proper lookout.
The first case was removed to federal court by Union Pacific then voluntarily dismissed by Rodriguez and Marco Ortuno. The new case does not list Ortuno, who is Rodriguez's father, as a plaintiff.
Suyapa Galeas, et al., v. American Honda Motor Co., et al.
Harris County District Court, Jan. 28
The estates of Cristian Galeas and Luis Reyes claim Honda failed to put warning labels on a portable gas generator used by the two during their employment with Principal Services.
The two were living in a mobile home in Channelview in June 2024, at the direction of Principal, which provided them a gas generator because there was no electrical service.
"Decedents were unaware, however, that while using the generator, carbon monoxide gas quickly filled the home, which caused decedents to lose consciousness, and both tragically died from carbon monoxide gas poisoning," the suit says.
Honda's generator lacked warning labels and safety features to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide in closed or poorly ventilated areas, the suit says.