East Texas Theatres, Inc., Petitioner v. James C. Rutledge, Respondents

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court reversed the trial court and Court of Civil Appeals judgments, holding that the evidence did not establish proximate cause because the plaintiffs failed to show that the theatre's failure to remove "rowdy persons" was a cause-in-fact of the bottle‑throwing injury. The court affirmed that the theatre owed a duty of reasonable care but that duty was not the legal basis for liability here.