H.E. Butt Grocery Co. v. Bilotto

This appeal turns upon the proper application of the appropriate standard of review for charge error. The question presented is whether the trial court abuses its discretion in submitting a Pattern Jury Charge instruction when a similar instruction has been held to be reversible error by the Texas Supreme Court. The majority holds that the trial court has discretion to submit such an instruction because it “follow[s] the wording of the appropriate Pattern Jury Charge, a widely accepted source throughout the legal community.” In our view, this holding and its rationale are not only wrong but a…