Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Vowell Construction Co.

While preparing an El Paso street for paving, Vowell Construction Company severed a 1515 pair communications cable (3030 wires) owned by The Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company. A judgment against Vowell and in favor of Mountain States was reversed by the Court of Civil Appeals. 335 S.W. 2d 804. The appellate court held (1) that Mountain States had waived any cause of action it may have had against Vowell based upon negligence; (2) that the recovery awarded by the trial court could not be supported upon the theory that Vowell had committed a “trespass,” and (3) that the provisions…