East Texas Theatres, Inc. v. Rutledge
453 S.W.2d 466 · Texas Supreme Court · 1970
Facts
Sheila Rutledge was injured by a bottle thrown from a theatre balcony during a midnight movie. A jury found the theatre negligent for failing to remove "rowdy persons" and that this negligence proximately caused her injuries. The lower courts affirmed, but there was no evidence that the bottle thrower was among the previously identified "rowdy persons" or that the bottle throwing was foreseeable from the prior conduct.
Issue
Was there sufficient probative evidence to support the jury's finding of proximate cause, specifically the cause-in-fact element, between the theatre's failure to remove "rowdy persons" and the patron's injury from a thrown bottle?
Holding
The Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the lower courts, holding that there was no evidence to support the jury's finding of proximate cause. The plaintiffs therefore take nothing.
Rule
Proximate cause requires both cause in fact (the event would not have occurred "but for" the defendant's act or omission) and foreseeability. A finding of cause in fact cannot be sustained if it relies on speculation or a presumption resting upon another presumed fact.
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