PJC General Negligence 2022

PJC 4.1

B ASIC N EGLIGENCE Q UESTIONS

also chapter 72 in the current edition of State Bar of Texas, Texas Pattern Jury Charges—Malpractice, Premises & Products . Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) cases. In UM/UIM cases, an insured is legally entitled to recover under his UM/UIM policy once he obtains a judg ment establishing the liability and underinsured status of the other motorist. See Brain ard v. Trinity Universal Insurance Co. , 216 S.W.3d 809, 818 (Tex. 2006); see also Allstate Insurance Co. v. Irwin , 627 S.W.3d 263, 270 (Tex. 2021), reh’g denied (Sept. 3, 2021) (approving use of declaratory judgment action “to determine the parties’ sta tus and responsibilities under the UM/UIM policy prior to its breach”). In this manner, UM/UIM coverage is unique because it uses tort law to determine coverage, and in doing so the questions necessary to establish coverage under the insurance contract will be the same liability and damages questions used in third-party liability cases. See Brainard , 216 S.W.3d at 818; see also Irwin , 627 S.W.3d at 265–66. Note, however, that in presenting these liability and damages questions to the jury, the UM/UIM car rier remains the real party in interest and must be identified to the jury as such. See Perez v. Kleinert , 211 S.W.3d 468, 472, 476 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg 2006, no pet.) (granting new trial where insurer’s attorney was permitted to conceal and deliberately misrepresent his identity to the jury as attorney for third-party motor ist). Actions involving commercial motor vehicles—filed on or after September 1, 2021. On September 1, 2021, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 72, subchapter B, “Actions Regarding Commercial Motor Vehicles” (“the Statute”), became effective and applies to certain claims described and defined by the Statute. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 72.051–.055. Despite the potential bifurcation of claims permitted by the Statute, PJC 4.1 remains the appropriate broad-form liability question for negligence “civil actions” involving “commercial motor vehicles” filed on or after September 1, 2021, but whose conduct will be considered by the jury depends on the application of the Statute. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 72.051(3), (4), 72.052(a)–(e). Caveats. The committee expresses no opinion for reconciling apportionment-of responsibility conflicts, if any, between Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 72.051–.055, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 72.052(a)–(e), and Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code chap ter 33.

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