Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Company of Texas v. Ruth Adele McFerrin

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court reversed the Court of Civil Appeals and remanded for a new trial, holding that the statutory duties at a railroad crossing are conditional on the train being plainly visible and in hazardous proximity, that the reasonable‑person test applies to those conditions, that the evidence did not conclusively show the motorist failed to stop, and that habit evidence was inadmissible where an eyewitness was present. Justice Garwood, in a concurring opinion, disagreed with the majority’s definition of the statutory phrases, favoring a plain‑language interpretation.