Glenn Ray Brown, Petitioners v. Edwards Transfer Company, Inc., Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals, holding that a male decedent’s illegitimate children may sue under the Texas Wrongful Death Act and that the trial court erred by not submitting the issue of the decedent’s contributory negligence to the jury. The Court adopted a clear‑and‑convincing‑evidence standard for establishing paternity under the Act and required the contributory negligence question to be submitted because some evidence of negligence and foreseeability existed. Separate opinions concurred in part and dissented on the contributory negligence analysis and on the interpretation of "children" in the statute.