Second Court of Appeals | Case Summaries

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued – Week of September 22, 2008

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

In re A.B.H., No. 02-06-00135-CV (Sept. 25, 2008) (Cayce, C.J., joined by Gardner, J.; Livingston, J., dissents with opinion). [Note: Both opinions are at the same link in one document.]: Held: The trial court abused its discretion by entering a judgment not supported by the pleadings. Father's counterpetition to modify the parent-child relationship did not request that he be named sole managing conservator. The trial court incorrectly determined that the parties had tried this issue by consent under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 67.; Dissent: A pleading requesting modification of the terms of an existing conservatorship should be construed to give the trial court the discretion to change those terms in the best interest of the child, even if the specific modification made by the trial court was not delineated in the pleadings. Moreover, even if the trial court's judgment was not supported by the pleadings, the issue was tried by consent.

Wise Reg'l Health Sys. v. Brittain, No. 02-07-00171-CV (Sept. 25, 2008) (Gardner, J., joined by Cayce, C.J., and Dauphinot, J.).: Held: Petition alleging that Appellant's staff administered a medication that contributed to the patient's death alleged a use or misuse of tangible property that proximately caused the patient's injury, thus bringing Appellee's wrongful death claim within the Tort Claims Act's waiver of sovereign immunity.