By CHAMBERLAIN - McHANEY
MS. CONGENIALITY WINS AGAIN: This morning, an
DRAM SHOP: HOW DRUNK IS TOO DRUNK? Kurtz began drinking at
J.W.’s Bait Camp during the afternoon hours of
On appeal, the family argued that there was evidence that Kurtz was intoxicated
because a convenience store security video tape taken a few minutes after
the accident showed Kurtz to be in a state of obvious intoxication.
Moreover, a fellow convenience store patron testified that Kurtz appeared drunk
and had urinated in his pants. The appellate court rejected the argument,
stating that the plaintiff has an “onerous burden” in a Dram Shop case to show
that the bar served the patron when he is already obviously drunk.
The video tape and the convenience store patron’s testimony did not have
a “temporal connection” to whether Kurtz was drunk while he was at The
Oasis.The fact that Kurtz may have been intoxicated an hour after he left The
Oasis did not mean he was obviously drunk while he was being served at The
Oasis. Moreover, the plaintiffs had failed to present any eyewitness
testimony or other evidence that Kurtz was drunk while he was at The Oasis.
Our Comment: Kurtz was not particularly helpful to either the
plaintiffs’ or defendant’s case. While he denied being intoxicated, he
admitted he had “blacked out” before the accident and could not remember what
he did or where he went after he left The Oasis. Alaniz v. Robello (
YET ANOTHER WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
! Texas Congressman Pete Sessions has been critical of Justin
Timberlake and Janet Jackson for exposing Janet’s breast in last year’s Super
Bowl half-time show and wardrobe malfunction. Now, Sessions’ opponent in
this year’s hotly contested election, Martin Frost, claims to have a
decades-old news video of Sessions “streaking naked” on campus while a student
at
NO DUTY TO FOLLOW PROGRESS OF NO SHOW: The Plaintiff sought the
services of a psychologist for treatment of anxiety and problems in her
marriage. After evaluating her condition, the psychologist referred her
to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist diagnosed her as having ADHD and
prescribed Adderall. The psychiatrist instructed the
plaintiff to “self monitor” and adjust her dosage of Adderall to achieve
the desired effect. The plaintiff began to suffer side effects from the
Adderall, but by this time she had quit seeing the psychologist. The plaintiff
eventually had a stroke which was alleged to have been caused by an improper
dosage of the drug. She brought suit against the psychologist, the
psychiatrist and Walgreen’s. The trial court granted the psychologist’s motion
for summary judgment.
On appeal, the patient argued that the psychologist had a continuing duty to
monitor her progress on Adderall and to report his impressions to the
psychiatrist. The
NEWS AND NOTES: Our Ninth Annual Ultimate Claims Handling Seminar was
attended by almost 150 people last week, making it one of the largest in the
state.
Texas Update is brought to you as a service of this firm.
David E. Chamberlain
Chamberlain-McHaney
512.474.9124
Visit us at www.chmc-law.com