Here's a question  for you: Did the Texas Supremes Act  Liberal in a Recent Decision in Order to  Protect Big Biz?

On Friday, March 12, 2010, the Texas Supreme Court reversed and remanded a $15m-plus jury award against Dallas-based concrete giant TXI (aka Texas Industries) in a wrongful death suit arising out of a December 2002 collision between one of its 18-wheel rock trucks driven by illegal immigrant Ricardo Rodriguez and a GMC Yukon driven by Kimberly Hughes. The glancing collision between  the truck and the Yukon caused the Yukon to spin out of control and hit a Ford Pickup that was driving behind the 18-wheeler. Ms. Hughes and three other family members were killed in the accident. An infant, one-year-old Jagr Royse Hughes, survived. Rodriguez was unscathed, but obviously shaken. The accident occurred along Texas Highway 114 between  Boyd and Paradise in Wise County, some 30 miles northwest of Fort Worth. The  family was returning home to Paradise after a Christmas shopping excursion in Fort Worth. 

The Court based its  decision, in part (it also considered the issue of the reliability of the Hughes family's Accident Reconstuction Witness) upon the Plaintiff's (the Hughes) attorney's multiple references  to Rodriguez's illegal immigrant status during the jury trial in Wise County District Court as prejudicial against the Defendant (TXI) and irrelevant to the  issue of the accident's "proximate cause." Citing the dissenting opinion from the Fort Worth Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit), the Court's opinion, by Justice Medina, asserted that the “repeated injection into the case of Rodriguez’s nationality, ethnicity, and illegal-immigrant status, including his conviction and deportation, was plainly calculated to inflame the jury against him.”

During the Wise County Jury Trial, Plaintiff's Attorney, Derrick Boyd of Decatur, made some 80 references to Rodriguez's illegal alien status as well as numerous references to the fact that Rodriguez served several months in jail for an immigration violation, was previously deported by U.S. Immigration officials after which he remained in Mexico for 10 years  before illegally returning to the United States, used a fake Social Security number to obtain his  Texas Drivers  License and his Commercial Drivers license, and lied on his TXI employment application about his immigration status. The jury initially awarded the Hughes Family $22.4m. The Fort Worth Court of Appeals cut that award to $15m. The Supreme Court's decision will return the case to Wise County District Court for futher consideration.

Outrage at the traditionally conservative Court's decision  ensued. It seemed to be, on its face, a case of "acting liberal to protect big business," or at least it seemed that way from how the Texas press and the commentista were, respectively, reporting and seeing it.

"Well, our good Republican Justices came through again for a large corporation and against a stricken family even though they had to coddle up to an illegal immigrant killer to do so. They will stop at nothing to protect the pocket books of the wealthy against true economic justice." posted a commenter called "Intrepid" at the Austin American-Stateman web site.

Another commenter at the site, a "Texan2", was so outraged, he posted multiple comments, including the following:

"If anyone from any country kills people during the commission of a crime then all parties involved deserved to be punished heavily. TXI was committing a crime by employing this illegal. The Illegal was committing various crimes as well. This family deserve [sic] every penny they were awarded and more..... Identity theft, fake drivers license, violating a host of state and federal laws. Did he even really know how to drive one of those trucks? Seems pretty cut and dried to me. Guess we are getting a look at the 'New Racism' in Texas."

Other commenters wanted to hang Mr. Rodriguez, while at least one other referred to the U.S. judicial system as "terroristic." Others accused the court of being "politically correct."

More such comments of outrage can be found at other sites: here, here, and here.

The outrage is based upon the logic that "if you are an illegal immigrant and anything  goes wrong in your proximity, it's automatically your fault because you should not be in this country in the first place." If one were to actually read the the Court's  Opinion, TXI v. Hughes, it's obvious that the Court's decision on the immigrant status issue was one of common sense, if not because the comments were indeed prejudicial, then because the family seems to have been at fault in the accident.

The  Court, in it's conclusion, notes that Rodriguez had a commericial license in both Texas and Mexico, and, get this, after many years as a professional driver, had a "clean driving record."

The family's story is that the Rodriguez drifted into the family's lane, or the westbound lane, while Rodriguez was traveling east. However, the eye-witnesses on the scene, including Rodriguez, claimed that he did not drift into family's lane, but actually steered away from the Yukon as it came toward him. It was an established fact that the collision occurred in the eastbound, or Rodriguez's, lane and not the family's westbound lane, making the jury's decision shaky at best.

The only witness to make the claim that Rodriguez was at fault in the accident was the the family's expert witness, Dr. Kurt Marshek, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas. To be kind, Mr. Marshek's ideas about defensive-driving are, well, a little strange. I hope he sticks with engineering and never teaches people to drive.

The Court describes Marshek's  theory of Rodriguez's causation of the accident as follows:

"Marshek’s  theory was that Rodriguez left his lane of travel, crossed over the center line into the westbound lane, and partially re-entered his eastbound lane before the initial impact with the Yukon. Marshek further concluded Kimberly Hughes steered sharply left into the eastbound lane to avoid Rodriguez’s gravel truck, which then at least partially occupied her lane, resulting in the collision in Rodriguez’s eastbound lane."

Okay, let's get this right: When a big truck is coming  at you, the defensive move is  the steer into it. Sure, that makes  sense- in fairy tales and science fiction books, sometimes.

Also in it's conclusion, the Court stated, "Hughes had some evidence of how Rodriguez might have been at fault for the collision in his lane, but the issue was hotly contested [emphasis mine]." I'll say.

The other, much more important, issue addressed by the court was the reliability of the family's expert, Mr. Marshek. Strangely enough, they declared Mr. Marshek's theory somehow  reliable, and sent it back to the good folks of Wise County to ponder a little longer and allow them to  waste more valuable taxpayer money and Court time. I get the feeling that the Supreme Court did not want to completely dismiss the family's claim, basically out of fear - these are elected officials,  remember- of losing their jobs. It's a shame. They could have been 2 for 2 rather than .500. That's politics, I guess.

To answer the question in the title-- Did a conservative Court Act Liberal to Protect Big Biz?-- the answer is "No." They basically "split the baby"( a saying I hear from a lot of lawyers) to remain politically viable.

ALSO SEE

Briefs Filed by Parties

Also consider these other errata included in the brief above:

 1. The Court disallowed the Texas Highway Patrol's  official accident report as evidence. The officer's report concluded the family was at fault;

2. The DPS report also concluded that none of the passengers were wearing  seatbelts and that the baby's car seat was not  secured by a seatbelt. The husband of the Kimberly Hughes told investigators that he and his family never  wore seatbelts;

3. The Court disallowed evidence that Kimberly Hughes received and answered a cell phone call from her husband at the exact time of the accident;

4. The only potential hispanic juror in the jury pool was struck by Plainitff's counsel. 

EPILOGUE:

I grew up in Wise County. Other legal issues from the County have come up in some of my other posts. I know at least one employee at the Plaintiff's firm (who is a good friend of some members of my extended family) and I believe members of my immediate family were at least acquainted with the victims in the above case.

The largest employers in Wise County are the rock crushers and a few Oil and Gas companies such as Oklahoma City-based Devon. It is a working class place with a few DFW commuters in the mix.

Rock trucks have plagued the County as long as I can remember. All the cars there are covered in crusher grime and dings in the windshields from flying rocks. Drivers don't bother to replace the windshields. They are just going to get hit again. Grizzly deaths of motorists at the wheels of the big trucks are all too common. Every time I drive back there to see my Mom, I often choose to  go during the night in order to avoid the trucks. These huge vehicles are dangerous, especially on two lane roads like Highway 114 between Rhome and Bridgeport. Highway 380 (a truck thoroughfare between Decatur and Bridgeport) has recently become a divided highway, and it is a lot safer for cars and trucks to share. Highway114 where this accident occurred needs some serious improvements to  prevent future accidents. If the state has not looked at making 114 a  divided highway, perhaps it is high time to do so.

I have nothing but sympathy for  the Hughes family. However, from the evidence I'm seeing, Mr. Rodriguez did not cause this accident and should not be crucified for his immigration status. I hope the new jurors in Wise County can look  at this case in an objective manner next time around without being forced to look through a prism of prejudice.

56 People have  Died in Wise County Truck Accidents in the Last 6 years - Dallas Morning News

DMN Story on the Hughes Family