JORDAN v. ZAVOLAS (2020)

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

James-Zachary Clifton JORDAN, Plaintiff−Appellant, v. Noah ZAVOLAS, Defendant−Appellee.

No. 19-20166

Decided: January 10, 2020

Before DAVIS, SMITH, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.

Sean Michael Reagan, Leyh, Payne & Mallia, P.L.L.C., Houston, TX, for Plaintiff - Appellant Levon G. Hovnatanian, Christopher Alan Grimm, Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, L.L.P., Houston, TX, for Defendant - Appellee

In this diversity case stemming from an auto accident, the plaintiff appeals a take-nothing judgment based on the jury's answer of “no” to the question, “Did the negligence, if any, of Noah Zavolas proximately cause the occurrence in question?” The magistrate judge, who tried the case by consent, denied plaintiff's motion for new trial, succinctly explaining that “under Texas law, being the ‘cause’ of an accident does not equate with being negligent.” Thus, despite that the defendant admitted to being the cause for having crossed the center line on a curve on a slippery road, there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find no negligence.

The judgment is AFFIRMED, essentially for the reasons given by the magistrate judge.

FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTE.

PER CURIAM:* FN* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.

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