Court Opinion

ID: 9775451
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:59:12.567929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:26.382839
License: Public Domain

LEVY, Justice,
dissenting,
Because I disagree with the majority’s treatment of appellant’s first point of error, I dissent.
Appellee went to trial upon its pleading of a general denial only, but the trial court, upon appellee’s request and over appellant’s objection, submitted an issue to the jury on the deceased’s contributory negligence. The jury affirmatively found contributory negligence on the part of the decedent, and that only his negligence proximately caused the accident in which he was killed.
It is undisputed that a defendant’s theory of contributory negligence is one of the affirmative defenses that, according to Tex.R.Civ.P. 94,1 must be affirmatively pled to entitle the defendant to raise the issue at trial. McFadden v. Hale, 615 S.W.2d 345, 348 (Tex.Civ.App. — Waco 1981, no writ).
Rule 94’s language, as I read it, is mandatory, and does not provide that it may be ignored if the plaintiff has been somehow otherwise notified that the defendant may attempt to rely on an affirmative defense. When the court does submit a contributory negligence issue in the absence of an affirmative pleading, such a submission is reversible error. See Wright v. McCoy, 110 S.W.2d 223 (Tex.Civ.App. — Eastland 1937, no writ). Of course, Tex.R.Civ.P. 66 grants a party relief from his failure to plead an affirmative defense if the court permits the party to amend his pleadings.
*247In the case at bar, the trial court allowed the appellee an opportunity to introduce evidence of contributory negligence, conditioned upon appellee’s filing an amended trial pleading setting forth that defense. But appellee did not correct its failure to raise the issue by filing such amended pleading. For the trial judge to submit an issue of contributory negligence to the jury, without pleadings to support it, is in my view error of reversible dimensions.
Neither is it valid for appellee to argue that it was entitled to raise the defense of contributory negligence merely because it was pled by a co-defendant, Essex-Hines. Our rules do not permit an affirmative defense raised by one defendant to inure automatically to the benefit of another defendant, where the pleading defendant is no longer even a party to the suit and liability is alleged to be joint and several. The affirmative defense of Essex-Hines must be independently pleaded and raised by appellee to entitle appellee to a special issue thereon, to be submitted to the jury. See Leach v. Cassity’s Estate, 279 S.W.2d 630, 635 (Tex.Civ.App. — Fort Worth 1955, writ ref d n.r.e.)
Nor can I accept the appellee’s argument that the submission of the contributory issue was harmless error. Introduction of evidence supporting a contributory negligence theory affects not only the damages issues but also the proximate cause issues. The jury, in effect, completely denied recovery to the appellants when it refused to attach liability to Lone Star; i.e., the jury determined that Lone Star’s negligence did not proximately cause Turner’s injury, and that Lone Star was not grossly negligent. The jury, in fact, found that only Turner’s negligence proximately caused his death. Under these circumstances, I cannot believe that the submission of the contributory negligence issue was harmless.
I would reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for a new trial.

. Rule 94, Tex.R.Civ.P., provides in pertinent part:
In pleading to a preceding pleading, a party shall set forth affirmatively ... contributory negligence ... and any other matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense.... (Emphasis supplied.)