Dallas Jury Hits Oncor With $44M Verdict in Power Line Injury Case

A seven-year fight over liability for an incident involving an Oncor Electric Delivery Co. power line that left a Young County man quadriplegic won’t end with a Dallas jury’s $44 million verdict that was returned Tuesday, as the utility company prepares to challenge the outcome. 

Dallas County District Judge Gena Slaughter hadn’t yet entered final judgment as of Thursday, and Oncor issued a statement to The Lawbook that when she does, it’s “confident a final judgment will ultimately be in our favor.” The utility company called the 2015 tree trimming incident that caused James Stacey Taylor’s injuries “tragic and distressing,” but noted that the jury agreed with Oncor that Taylor “ignored Texas law when he got too close to a power line he knew to be dangerous, and that he chose to not contact Oncor about his planned work.”