City of Houston v. Barbare

PEDEN, Justice.

This is a damage suit for personal injuries incurred by Mrs. Barbare when she stepped into a hole in a park owned by the City of Houston. The hole had been dug by the City for access to a buried cut-off valve in the water line serving a public drinking fountain. The valve was about eighteen inches below ground level. The hole leading to it contained a piece of concrete pipe four inches in diameter with a slightly flared opening at the top. The top of the pipe was customarily sunk about two inches beneath the surface, a metal top was fitted into it and it was all covered with…