Shamrock Fuel & Oil Sales Co., Inc., Keith L. Ward and Johnny Hale, Relators v. Honorable Bert H. Tunks, District…

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that mandamus may compel only a ministerial act of rendering judgment and cannot be used to decide substantive issues such as lack of privity or the effect of contributory negligence on a strict liability claim. The Court also held that contributory negligence that consists merely of a failure to discover a product defect is not a defense to a strict liability action, so the jury's findings of negligence did not bar recovery.