PJC General Negligence 2022

PJC 12.1

N UISANCE

4. If the alleged conduct involves a crime or is being prosecuted under a Texas criminal statute, use the applicable definition from the Texas Penal Code or applicable statute. See also State Bar of Texas, Texas Criminal Pattern Jury Charges Online . 5. If the alleged conduct involves a trespass, the charge should refer to tres pass separately from nuisance. See chapter 11 in this volume. Pleading specific culpability. Nuisance involves three levels of culpability: (1) intentional conduct, (2) negligent conduct, or (3) conduct that is abnormal and out of place in its surroundings. See Crosstex North Texas Pipeline, L.P. , 505 S.W.3d at 602; City of Tyler v. Likes , 962 S.W.2d 489, 503 (Tex. 1997). A “defendant can be liable for causing a nuisance if the defendant intentionally causes it, negligently causes it, or—in limited circumstances—causes it by engaging in abnormally dangerous or ultra-haz ardous activities.” Crosstex North Texas Pipeline, L.P. , 505 S.W.3d at 588. If the defendant is a governmental entity, the plaintiff must show intentional nuisance. City of San Antonio v. Pollock , 284 S.W.3d 809, 820–21 (Tex. 2009).

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