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Payne v. City of Houston, Texas — 5th Cir. (argued August 5, 2026)

No. 25-20492 Argued August 5, 2026 Published August 12, 2026; updated August 17, 2026

The Fifth Circuit again hears a lawsuit over a 2021 crash between Houston police officer Christopher Cabrera and Charles Payne Senior, who died from his injuries. Cabrera was returning to his station after booking a DWI suspect. The Payne family says he drove seventy miles per hour in a thirty-five zone and looked at his in-car computer before impact. Houston says Payne's left turn alone caused the crash. A prior panel let the family's Texas Tort Claims Act case proceed at the pleading stage. After discovery, the district court again rejected Houston's governmental-immunity defense. Houston says the evidence now defeats negligence, Cabrera was still responding to the 9-1-1 call, and another statutory rule bars the claim. The family says factual disputes belong at trial and part of this appeal is premature.

Payne v. City of Houston, Texas (No. 25-20492) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued August 5, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/OralArgRecordings/25/25-20492_8-5-2026.mp3
Argument listing — Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/oral-argument-recordings/results?from=2026-08-05&to=2026-08-12
Argument calendar — Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/oral-argument-information/court-calendars/ByCase/
Earlier Payne opinion — Fifth Circuit:https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/24/24-20150.0.pdf
Current appeal docket — Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca5/25-20492
District-court summary-judgment order — Midpage:https://app.midpage.ai/document/payne-v-city-of-houston-1000456958664
Texas Tort Claims Act — Texas Legislature:https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.101.htm
Transportation Code chapter 545 — Texas Legislature:https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.545.htm
Transportation Code chapter 546 — Texas Legislature:https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.546.htm
City of Killeen v. Terry — Supreme Court of Texas:https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1460374/220186pc.pdf
Mitchell v. Forsyth — U.S. Supreme Court:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-472/pdf/USREPORTS-472-511.pdf
Musacchio v. United States — U.S. Supreme Court:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-577/pdf/USREPORTS-577-237.pdf
Christy Lynn Martin — State Bar of Texas:https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?ContactID=240105&Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm
James E. Sherry — McCathern:https://mccathernlaw.com/james-e-sherry/

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