Arkansas city looks to Texas for help in court battle over liability

By Jim Greene

Published on August 02, 2005

Capt. Glenn Greenwell was turning left from the Arkansas side of State Line Avenue, which separates the two states, when he collided with a car being driven on the Texas side of the street by April Davis, an Arkansas resident. Since the accident occurred in Texas, Davis filed her $90,000 suit in that state, which recognizes a municipal liability cap of $250,000 per incident. The City of Texarkana, Ark., has an insurance liability limit of $20,000 per incident.

Texarkana, Ark., City Attorney Ned Stewart based his arguments against applying the Texas standard on the fact that both Greenwell and Davis are Arkansas citizens, and the principle of comity, by which states engaged in legal contests often recognize and apply each other's laws.

Davis' attorney, Ben Franks, argued that state citizenship did not affect the case. He said that, since the accident occurred in Texas, only that state's laws apply, and comity was not a relevant issue.

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