CenterPoint Avoids Liability For Injuries After Gas Explosion

Natural gas provider CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. will not have to face liability in a personal injury case due to a provision in a utility tariff that bars liability for damages suffered by a residential customer’s houseguests, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The state’s top court said a liability limitation provision approved by state regulators means CenterPoint will not have to pay damages to Fernando and Minerva Ramirez, who were frequent guests at their daughter’s home, because they are consumers of the utility’s gas services, even though the contract was not under their name.

The Ramirezes used the ...