Tovar v. Amarillo Oil Co

In Tovar v. Amarillo Oil Co., 692 S.W.2d 469 (Tex. 1985), the premises owner retained a contractual right to suspend its independent contractor's drilling operations "in the event of carelessness, inattention, or incompetency on the part of" that contractor. Id. at 470. The Court held that the oil company owed a duty to its independent contractor's employees when it became aware that the independent contractor was violating a specific, critical safety provision in the drilling contract. Id. In Tovar v. Amarillo Oil Co., the Court upheld the liability of the operator of an oil and gas lease for injury to a drilling company's employee from the driller's misuse of a blowout preventer which the operator had specifically prohibited in the drilling contract and of which the operator was actually aware. 692 S.W.2d at 470