Del Lago Partners, Inc. and Del Lago Partners, L.p., Doing Business Under the Assumed Name of Del Lago Golf Resort &…

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed a roughly $1.48 million premises-liability award to Bradley Smith, who suffered a skull fracture and brain damage in a closing-time brawl at the Del Lago resort bar, holding that Del Lago owed him a duty of protection because it had actual and direct knowledge that a violent brawl was imminent between drunk, belligerent patrons and had ample time and means to defuse the situation. The court held the evidence legally sufficient on breach and proximate causation, distinguished East Texas Theatres v. Rutledge, confirmed that inadequate-security claims sound in premises liability rather than negligent activity, and ruled that Smith's awareness of the escalating danger bore only on comparative responsibility and could not bar recovery because his 49% fault did not exceed Del Lago's 51%. Justice Willett wrote for a six-Justice majority. Justices Hecht, Johnson, and Wainwright dissented: Hecht and Johnson would have applied Restatement (Second) of Torts section 343A(1) to hold that Smith's full appreciation of the obvious risk and his easy means of escape discharged Del Lago's duty and would have rendered judgment that Smith take nothing, while Wainwright would have recharacterized the claim as negligent activity and found no unreasonable risk of harm.