Impson v. Structural Metals, Inc.

Supreme Court of Texas
487 S.W.2d 694 (1972)

ELI5:

Rule of Law:

The unexcused violation of a statute designed for public safety constitutes negligence per se. An excuse for such a violation is legally sufficient only if it falls into specific categories, such as emergency or incapacity, and not if it is merely a matter of ordinary care or an error in judgment.

Facts:

A truck, driven by Joe Polanco and owned by Structural Metals, was traveling behind an automobile occupied by Mrs. Impson and others.
Polanco attempted to pass the automobile as the two vehicles approached a highway intersection.
The passing maneuver occurred on the left-hand side of the highway within 100 feet of the intersection, a violation of a criminal traffic statute.
The automobile turned left into the intersection while the truck was attempting to pass.
The truck collided with the automobile in the left-hand lane.
The collision resulted in the deaths of Mrs. Impson and two other occupants of the automobile.

Procedural Posture:

Plaintiffs (representatives of the deceased passengers) sued defendants, Structural Metals, Inc. and Joe Polanco, in a Texas trial court.
A jury found that the defendant driver violated the passing statute and that this violation was a proximate cause of the collision.
The trial court, viewing the statutory violation as negligence per se, entered a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.
The defendants (appellants) appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals, an intermediate appellate court.
A majority of the Court of Civil Appeals reversed the trial court's judgment and ordered a new trial, holding that because evidence of an excuse was presented, a special issue on negligence should have been submitted to the jury.
The plaintiffs (appellants) then appealed to the Supreme Court of Texas, the state's highest court.

Premium Content

Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief

You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture

Issue:

Does a driver's violation of a traffic safety statute prohibiting passing near an intersection constitute negligence per se when the offered justifications for the violation, such as momentary forgetfulness or errors in judgment, do not amount to a legally recognized excuse?

Opinions:

Majority - Justice Greenhill

Yes, the driver's violation of the statute constitutes negligence per se. For a statutory violation to be excused, the violator must present a legally substantial justification, which does not include a mere failure to exercise ordinary care. The court adopted the framework from the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 288A, which lists legally acceptable excuses such as incapacity, inability to comply after reasonable diligence, or an emergency not caused by the actor's own misconduct. Here, the driver's excuses—that he was familiar with the law but momentarily forgot about the intersection, that the sign was small, and that he thought he could pass safely—all fall within the realm of ordinary care, or lack thereof. Since none of the offered justifications met the standard for a legally acceptable excuse, the violation was unexcused and therefore constitutes negligence per se.

Analysis:

This decision is significant for formally adopting the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 288A's framework for the excuse doctrine in Texas negligence per se cases. By providing a clear, structured list of legally acceptable excuses, the court limits the scope of justifications that a defendant can use to rebut a claim of negligence per se. This prevents the doctrine from being weakened by flimsy excuses amounting to a lack of ordinary care, thereby strengthening the legal effect of public safety statutes. The ruling clarifies that a jury does not get to decide if a statutory violation is excused unless the defendant first presents evidence of a legally recognized justification like emergency or impossibility.

Gunnerbot

AI-powered case assistant

Loaded: Impson v. Structural Metals, Inc. (1972)

Try: "What was the holding?" or "Explain the dissent"

Premium Feature