Morse v. State

OPINION

WALKER, Chief Justice.

This suit for damages was brought pursuant to the Texas Tort Claims Act. Tex.Civ.Prac. & Rem.Code § 101 et. seq. (Vernon 1986). The seminal issue of this appeal is whether the dangerous condition constitutes an ordinary premise defect or a special defect. Trial was to a jury which rendered a verdict generally favoring appellant, Mary Morse, but finding that the Department of Public Highways and Public Transportation, one of the defendants below, did not have actual knowledge prior to the accident in question.

Factually, appellant’s daughter, Laurice Morse, was…