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Dodge v. Durdin12/1/2005
Appellant, Deborah Dodge, appeals from a no-evidence summary judgment and traditional summary judgment granted in favor of appellees, Jean Durdin, Granger Durdin, Raymond Durdin, Magic Moments Inc. and Magic Moments Stables. Dodge claims that she sustained an injury when an untamed horse kicked her in the abdomen as she was administering oral deworming medication to the horse pursuant to direction from her employer and supervisor, appellee Granger Durdin. Dodge's first, third and fourth issues on appeal assert that chapter 87 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, entitled "Liability Arising from Equine Activities or Livestock Shows" (the Equine Act), violates both the open courts and due course of law guarantees in the Texas Constitution and improperly allows for consideration of contributory fault in violation of section 406.033 of the Labor Code. In her third issue, Dodge asserts that the trial court erred by granting appellees' no-evidence motion for summary judgment because she raised issues of fact on all elements of her cause of action for negligence against appellees. Within her third issue on appeal, Dodge asserts that the Equine Act does not apply to her because she was an employee, rather than a participant in an equine activity, as that term is defined under the act. We sustain Dodge's third issue on appeal and therefore need not address her remaining appellate issues. We hold that the Equine Act applies to consumers and not employees and that Dodge is therefore not a "participant" under the Equine Act. We further hold that Dodge presented more than a scintilla of evidence on every element of her negligence claim and thus raised a genuine issue of material fact as to that claim. Accordingly, we reverse and remand the cause for further proceedings.
Background
Dodge asserts that appellees, her employers, never warned her of the following: that the horse was not trained, that it previously resided only in a pasture, that it was dangerous, that she should pay close attention to it, that it needed to be handled with care, and that she should be calm around it. Dodge acknowledges that Granger Durdin informed her that the horse "had not been handled much."
At the time of Dodge's injury, appellees did not carry workers' compensation insurance. Dodge's suit alleged common-law negligence by asserting that appellees failed to provide her with a safe place to work, failed to address and care properly for her injuries, failed to warn her of the dangers associated with the horse that injured her, and failed to act as a reasonable and prudent person, business, or both would have acted under the same or similar circumstances. Appellees filed traditional and no-evidence motions for summary judgment, and Dodge responded to the motions. The trial court granted summary judgment for appellees without stating the grounds.
Standard of Review for Motions for Summary Judgment
We review summary judgments de novo. Valence Operating Co. v. Dorsett, 164 S.W.3d 656, 661 (Tex. 2005). Traditional summary judgment is proper only when the movant establishes that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c). In reviewing a traditional summary judgment, we must indulge every reasonable inference in favor of the non-movant, take all evidence favorable to the non-movant as true, and resolve any doubts in favor of the non-movant. Id. A defendant who moves for traditional summary judgment on the plaintiff's claims must conclusively disprove at least one element of each of the plaintiff's causes of action. Little v. Tex. Dep't of Criminal Justice, 148 S.W.3d 374, 381 (Tex. 2004).
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