The First Opinion From Justice Hawkins on the Supreme Court of Texas

I am pleased to share the first signed opinion from Justice Kyle Hawkins, the newest member of the Texas Supreme Court. San Antonio v. Realme is like a fun statutory interpretation case involving, of all things, a Turkey Trot:

Nadine Realme tripped and suffered an injury in a San Antonio park while participating in a community Thanksgiving “fun run” known as a turkey trot. She sued the City, claiming its negligent maintenance of the park caused her injury. But according to Texas’s Recreational Use Statute, TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 75.002(f), the City is not liable for ordinary negligence when a person “engages in recreation” on government property. Is a holiday-themed community footrace “recreation”? We hold that it is, and we reverse the contrary decision below.

There is a lot of analysis about when the canons of construction apply, and when they do not. I find that one of the biggest mistakes that students make is jumping to the canons too quickly before doing the hard work of carefully reading the statute. And if you read to page 7 there is a discussion of the different types of vehicles, but nothing about whether those vehicles can be in a park.