Susan Gipson v. Larry…

Summary

The Arizona Supreme Court, sitting en banc, held that a person who improperly gives his prescription drugs to another owes a duty of care to third parties injured by their unauthorized use, grounding the duty in Arizona statutes that criminalize distributing prescription drugs to persons without valid prescriptions. The court expressly rejected foreseeability as a factor in the legal determination of duty and held that a special or direct relationship between the parties is not required, confining foreseeability to the jury questions of breach and proximate cause. Agreeing with the court of appeals' result but not its reasoning, the court vacated the portion of that opinion addressing duty and remanded for further proceedings. Justice Hurwitz concurred separately, endorsing the outcome but suggesting that Arizona adopt the Restatement (Third)'s default-duty framework in a future case.