Patterson Dental Company v. Frank Jerome Dunn

This case involves the "equalizing" by the trial court of peremptory challenges between multiple parties in a civil suit as required by Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 2151a (Vernon Supp.1978-79). Plaintiff-respondent Dunn, a dentist, sued four defendants on negligence and products liability theories for personal injuries received when a piece of equipment he was operating in his dental office exploded. The fire and explosion resulted when Dunn opened the valve of an oxygen cylinder which was connected to a two-cylinder manifold system. After trial to a jury, a take-nothing judgment was rendered against Dunn. The court of civil appeals reversed and remanded the cause for a new trial. 578 S.W.2d 428. We affirm the judgment of the court of civil appeals but on different grounds.