Texas Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review of $200 Million Claim Against Construction Company Anderson Columbia Co., Inc. Defended by Legal Team Thompson Coe and Langley & Banack, Inc.

Texas Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review of $200 Million Claim Against Construction Company Anderson Columbia Co., Inc. Defended by Legal Team Thompson Coe and Langley & Banack, Inc.

 

Contact: Katy Corrigan

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SAN ANTONIO (October 27, 2020) – Langley & Banack, Inc. announced today that the Texas Supreme Court denied petition for review of a $200 million negligence lawsuit against highway construction client, Anderson Columbia Co., Inc., represented by Thompson Coe and Langley & Banack, Inc. in a 2018 trial. The lawsuit stemmed from a 2014 triple fatality car accident in a Maverick County, Texas, highway construction zone.

Lead counsel Jennifer Aufricht of Thompson Coe, along with Langley & Banack attorney Eddie Morales, and trial veteran Darrell Barger of Hartline Barger, represented Anderson Columbia, the construction company engaged in the road work. Langley & Banack’s Catherine Stone and Jessica Barger of Wright Close & Barger handled the successful appeal.

The case involved a rear-end collision caused by an 18-wheeler hitting vehicles stopped in a construction zone and creating a chain reaction collision near Eagle Pass, TX. The driver of the 18-wheeler was traveling approximately 60 miles per hour immediately prior to the collision and failed to apply his brakes until two seconds before it occurred.

The families of the deceased sued both the driver of the 18-wheeler, as well as Anderson Columbia, alleging their negligence caused the accident to occur. Anderson was also alleged to be negligent in failing to comply with the traffic control plan prepared by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) for the road construction project.

The jury of the two-week trial, which took place in Maverick County in 2018, found the 18-wheeler driver’s negligence caused the accident. Anderson was found not negligent and in compliance with the TXDOT traffic control plan.

The Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio upheld the jury’s verdict in favor of Anderson in July 2020, and this week the Texas Supreme Court denied further review, thereby putting an end to the litigation.

Eddie Morales and Catherine Stone released this statement about the case:

“The rulings from the 4th Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed that Judge Maribel Flores correctly set aside the mistrial granted by a visiting judge. Judge Flores followed the law and recognized the hard work and deliberation of the Maverick County jury in rendering their decision that Anderson Columbia was not at fault for the accident. The successful defense of this case could not have been possible without the help of our hardworking staff, the witnesses who testified truthfully at trial, and the employees at Anderson Columbia.  As always, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost loved ones on that day and we take comfort in knowing that they have now received closure.”

The client, Anderson Columbia Co. Inc., is one of the fastest growing highway construction companies in Texas. Headquartered in Florida, the company has 1,600 employees across Florida, Texas, Georgia and the Southeast, and is one of the largest heavy civil contractors in the United States.

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