Boerjan v. Rodriguez

In this case, we address the duty a landowner or occupier owes to a trespasser. Here, a driver trespassed on a ranch while transporting a family. After being confronted by a ranch employee, the trespassing driver fled at high speed, and the vehicle rolled over, killing the family. The decedents’ family (the Rodriguezes) filed wrongful death claims, including negligence and gross negligence. Because our case law makes clear that a land occupier owes only a duty to avoid injuring a trespasser wilfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence, a claim for simple negligence must fail. See Tex.…