Dr. Arnulfo R. GARZA-VALE and Francine GARZA-VALE, Appellants v. Roswitha KWIECIEN, Individually and as Personal Representative and Heir of the Estate of Mario Joaquim GONZALES, Appellees, 796 S.W.2d 500

Summary

Appellees, mother and as personal representative and heir of her adult son, brought a suit alleging common law negligence in a wrongful death and survival action, with respect to her son's death by smoke inhalation during a fire at the apartment duplex of appellants, doctor and his wife, who were owners and lessors. A judgment was entered on a jury verdict for common law negligence damages favoring appellees where negligence in failing to install a smoke detector and in failing to repair a floor furnace was claimed. The appellate court reversed the judgment of the trial court, holding that the Texas Smoke Detectors Statute provided the exclusive remedy for the absence of a smoke detector, hence the jury's negligence finding, which did not embrace the statutory scheme, was legally insufficient to support the judgment. The court held further that absent any notice by a tenant to appellants of the specified unsafe condition at the rental premises in need of repair, appellants, as ...