Opinion ID: 473028
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Implied Duties

Text: 41 Appellants' last contention is that the district court committed error in not submitting two theories on the basis of which appellants claim that Phillips owed them implied duties. First, appellants claim that since Phillips was contractually bound to perform certain tasks, Phillips had a duty to perform these tasks with reasonable care. See Prosser and Keeton, The Law on Torts, Sec. 93 at 670 (5th ed. 1984). Second, appellants claim that regardless of whether Phillips was contractually bound to perform a task, once Phillips undertook to perform it had a duty in tort to do so with reasonable care. See Colonial Savings Association v. Taylor, 544 S.W.2d 116, 119-20 (Tex.1976) (adopting Restatement (Second) of Torts Sec. 323 (1965) for liability of a negligent undertaking to the person owed performance); Johnson v. Abbe Engineering Co., 749 F.2d 1131, 1132 n. 1 (5th Cir.1984) (holding that Texas courts would apply Restatement section 324 and extend liability for negligent undertakings to third parties); see also Sales, p 4.02 at p. 328 (stating that liability under Restatement (Second) of Torts Sec. 324 (1965) is predicated solely in negligence). 42 It is precisely because these theories are grounded in fault that we find that the district court's failure to separately submit these two issues was not an abuse of discretion, for such a submission was otherwise adequately covered by the charge. The district court submitted negligence to the jury as one of three theories of recovery, and the negligence instruction subsumed the two implied duty theories. 7 As we have stated, [A] trial court is not required to give every charge requested ... if the subject matter of such requested instructions was sufficiently covered by other instructions from the court. Rehler, 777 F.2d at 1078. See also, e.g., Trinity Carton Co. v. Falstaff Brewing Co., 767 F.2d 184, 191 (5th Cir.1985). The charge adequately presented appellants' theories in these respects and the district court's failure to separately submit the mentioned theories of recovery was not an abuse of discretion.