Texas Supreme Court
Lower Neches Valley Authority, Petitioner v. Oscar Murphy, Respondents
May 12, 197619 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 312
Summary
The Texas Supreme Court reversed the Court of Civil Appeals and affirmed the trial court's grant of summary judgment for the Lower Neches Valley Authority, holding that the Authority owed no duty to warn the minor licensee of the specific clay humps because the child had knowledge of the general condition. The Court reasoned that the duty to a licensee is limited to avoiding willful, wanton, or gross negligence and that the exception requiring a warning applies only when the licensor knows of a dangerous condition unknown to the licensee. Justice Johnson filed a concurring opinion adopting the Restatement (Second) Torts §342 rule but reaching the same result.