Supreme Court
Tenaris Bay City Inc. v. Ellisor
- Case number: 23-0808
- Legal category: Negligence
- Subtype: Causation
- Set for oral argument: February 19, 2025
Case Summary
This flooding case presents issues related to the legal sufficiency of causation evidence to support negligence claims.
For decades, homeowners in Matagorda County lived near a grass farm. In 2013, Tenaris bought the farm and built a manufacturing facility on the land. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit. Although rainfall in the county was significantly less than in Houston, the homeowners allege their properties flooded for the first time. They sued Tenaris for negligence, alleging that the facility’s presence and storm‑drainage deficiencies caused the flooding. During the trial, both sides presented weather and civil‑engineering experts. The trial court granted a directed verdict on gross negligence in Tenaris’s favor and rendered judgment for the homeowners on favorable jury findings for negligence, negligent nuisance, and negligence per se. The parties stipulated to damages of $2,800,000. Tenaris appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
The Supreme Court granted Tenaris’s petition for review, which argues that (1) the court of appeals applied the wrong causation standard; (2) expert causation evidence was required but legally insufficient to prove Tenaris caused the flooding; and (3) the trial court erred by striking the grass farm as a responsible third party.
Case summaries are created by the Court's staff attorneys and law clerks and do not constitute the Court’s official descriptions or statements. Readers are encouraged to review the Court’s official opinions for specifics regarding each case.