Horrocks v. Texas Department of Transportation

We consider whether an appellate court may properly render judgment on the basis of a no evidence complaint raised solely by a motion for new trial.

Police officer Jimmy Horrocks sustained permanently disabling injuries when his motorcycle struck a truck leaf spring lying on the shoulder of Interstate 20 in Grand Prairie, Texas. Horrocks and his wife Beatriz sued, alleging the State negligently failed to remove or warn of a hazardous roadway condition. Following trial, a jury determined that the spring was a “special defect” under the Texas Tort Claims Act, that the State knew or should have…