(DOWNLOAD) "Bennett Et Ux. v. Brown County Water Improvement Dist. No. 1" by Eastland No. 3036 Court of Civil Appeals of Texas " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Bennett Et Ux. v. Brown County Water Improvement Dist. No. 1
- Author : Eastland No. 3036 Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
- Release Date : January 16, 1953
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 69 KB
Description
GRISSOM, Chief Justice. Jesse H. Bennett and wife sued Brown County Water Improvement District Number One for damages caused by the death of their minor son, Norman Eugene Bennett, who was drowned when he fell into defendant's irrigation ditch and was drawn into a conduit which carried the water under a railroad's tracks. They alleged the District was incorporated under the laws of Texas applicable to water improvement districts for the purpose of storing and impounding water in Lake Brownwood and furnishing it to Brownwood, and for the distribution of water and irrigation of land in the District, for profit to said District and for the benefit of landowners in the District, and, for such purposes, had constructed and were maintaining irrigation ditches and conduits to carry water from Lake Brownwood to farms under irrigation in the District; that the water passing through the conduit where their son was drowned was used for sale to landowners of the District for irrigation purposes for profit to the District and for the benefit of the landowners; that the open irrigation ditch was 3 1/2 feet deep and 6 1/2 feet wide, rounded at the bottom and lined with cement; that where their son was drowned the conduit, into which the irrigation ditch flowed, was a pipe 42 inches in diameter extending underground 1,200 feet; that about 9 feet from the place where the ditch entered the conduit there was a dip of about 3 feet, so that the water at the mouth of the conduit was deeper than in the ditch; that on account of this construction, the water flows swiftly and there is a suction at the entrance of the conduit; that the dangerous character of the entrance was not apparent to ordinary persons; that many families reside in the vicinity and children had long been accustomed to playing and fishing there; that it was unusually attractive to children; that children were permitted to play and fish there without warning of the danger of being sucked into the conduit; that the District's agents and employees knew, or should have known, of said condition and that no measures had been taken to prevent children from falling into the canal and being drawn into the conduit and drowned; that their child was sucked into said conduit and drowned as a result of the negligence of defendant's agents and employees. The District moved that plaintiffs' case be dismissed because the petition showed the District was organized and incorporated under the Constitution and laws of Texas as a water improvement district, created for the purposes heretofore stated as being alleged by plaintiffs, and that in operating and maintaining the irrigation canal and conduit it was discharging governmental function as an agency of the State in carrying out the public rights and duties imposed on it by law and for which it was created. That, therefore, the petition disclosed the District was not liable for the negligence of its agents and employees in the maintenance and operation of said canal and conduit. The court sustained the motion and dismissed the case. The Bennetts have appealed.
 "Bennett Et Ux. v. Brown County Water Improvement Dist. No. 1" by Eastland No. 3036 Court of Civil Appeals of Texas " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free){kind=link}