CPS Energy, Cement Company Settle Lawsuit in Electrocution Death

Family of Quarry Worker Receives $850,000 in Combined Payments

Settlement Reached Before Trial

San Antonio—CPS Energy and a Texas cement supplier have agreed to pay a combined $850,000 to the family of a man who died after being electrocuted by a downed power line at a quarry in Garden Ridge. The settlement, reached in December and filed with the state District Court on Jan. 28, resolved a lawsuit brought by relatives of Tate Boyster, who died in 2022.

The San Antonio utility agreed to pay $150,000, while Lehigh Hanson Materials South LLC, now operating as Heidelberg Materials, agreed to pay $700,000. The eight-page agreement had been confidential.

A jury trial had been scheduled to begin less than a week after the parties alerted the court of the settlement.

Family Alleged Negligence

Boyster’s widow, Kayleen Boyster of Tucson, Arizona, and his parents, Zane and Julie Boyster of Boulder City, Nevada, sued both companies in 2023. They sought more than $1 million in damages and accused CPS Energy and Lehigh Hanson of negligence.

An amended complaint filed in November said Boyster was “electrocuted to his death” on Sept. 3, 2022, at Lehigh Hanson’s Servtex Quarry on FM 2252. Boyster, an assistant plant manager, was visiting the site with co-worker William “Billy” Saly Jr. and their spouses on the Saturday before Labor Day.

According to the lawsuit, Saly noticed charred ground and a downed power line. Boyster got out of his vehicle to check for an active fire and determine whether the pole belonged to CPS Energy or Lehigh Hanson so he could notify the correct party. “Suddenly and without warning,” the complaint said, Boyster came close enough to a live wire to be electrocuted. It was unclear whether he stepped on the wire or whether electricity arced from the hanging line.

The family alleged that CPS Energy failed to enforce an inspection program to protect the public from dangers like downed lines. Lehigh Hanson was accused of failing to inspect its property after a thunderstorm four days earlier that had brought down the line.

Companies Denied Responsibility

CPS Energy countersued, arguing that Boyster violated a section of the Texas Health and Safety Code by coming too close to the power line without proper clearance. The utility sought more than $1 million in reimbursement for its costs and said Lehigh Hanson was responsible for Boyster’s actions because he was its employee.

CPS also said the cement supplier denied Kayleen Boyster’s workers’ compensation claim and asserted that another employee was in charge of the quarry at the time. A CPS spokesperson declined to comment on the case.

Both companies moved to have the lawsuit dismissed before trial, but those attempts failed.

Settlement Factors

Attorney Javier Espinoza, who represented the Boyster family, called the incident “a very tragic accident” and said Boyster believed he was acting responsibly by checking the downed line. He said the threat that a jury might find the hazard “open and obvious” influenced the decision to settle, noting, “Texas law is so against workers.”