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Prairie View A&M University v. Brooks10/20/2005
ve that the University was grossly negligent or that it injured him by willful or wanton conduct. Instead, Brooks submitted this case to the jury only under the theory that a dangerous condition existed on the premises that the University failed to warn him about or make safe. To sustain a claim under this theory, Brooks was required to prove, among other things that the state had actual knowledge of a dangerous condition and that he had no actual knowledge of that condition. See State Dep't of Highways & Public Transp. v. Kitchen, 867 S.W.2d 784, 786 (Tex. 1993) (" iability for a premise defect requires a finding that the State actually knew of the dangerous condition.").
D. There Is No Evidence of Actual Knowledge of the Dangerous Condition
As the Texas Supreme Court noted over thirty years ago in Tennison, " ctual knowledge rather than constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition is required" to sustain a premises claim against the State. 509 S.W.2d at 562 ("The clear intent of the legislature was to limit the State's immunity in tort claims arising from premise defects by imposing the same duty upon the State as that owed by private persons to a licensee on private property."). This requirement has been reaffirmed through the years and continues to be a limitation on the State's liability under the TTCA. See, e.g., See City of San Antonio v. Rodriguez, 931 S.W.2d 535, 536 (Tex. 1996) (city's knowledge of a leaky roof did not establish its awareness of a wet floor, which was the dangerous condition that caused injury ); Kitchen, 867 S.W.2d at 786 ("The icy bridge in this case was a premise defect, and since the jury failed to find that the State was aware of the defect before the accident, the State is not liable to plaintiffs."); see also Creek v. Tex. State Dep't of Highways & Public Transp., 826 S.W.2d 797, 802 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, writ denied) (requiring proof of actual knowledge of damaged sign, not knowledge of improper sign installation).
Proof of actual knowledge requires a finding that the State knew of the dangerous condition that caused the injury , not just proof that the State was aware of a related condition that may create a danger at some time in the future. In Rodriguez, for example, the Texas Supreme Court reversed a jury verdict premised upon a city's knowledge that a roof leaked, stating the "leaky roof was not itself a dangerous condition; it could only cause a dangerous condition." 931 S.W.2d at 536. The court therefore remanded for a determination of whether there was actual knowledge of the dangerous condition that had caused plaintiff's injury, which was water on the floor. Id. at 536-37 ("On retrial, the jury should be instructed that the allegedly dangerous condition was the water [plaintiff] claims was on the floor."); see also Dyall v. Simpson, 152 S.W.3d 688, 710 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, pet. filed) (holding by en banc court that employer's awareness that liquid was being pumped through a pipe did not establish awareness of leak in pipe); Payne, 838 S.W.2d at 238 (holding that the fact a claimant knew of a culvert's existence did not establish as a matter of law his actual knowledge regarding the dangerous location of the culvert).
The requirement that there be proof of actual knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the injury is dispositive in this case. Here, the dangerous condition that caused Brooks' injury was the entry of steam into the section of pipe that was being repaired. See, e.g., Rodriguez, 931 S.W.2d at 537 (holding as a matter of law that the dangerous condition was the condition that actually caused the injury, and not the preliminary "condition [that] could only cause a d
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