Boyd v. Fuel Distributors, Inc.

795 S.W.2d 266, 1990 WL 112526
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 17, 1990
Docket3-89-184-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 795 S.W.2d 266 (Boyd v. Fuel Distributors, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boyd v. Fuel Distributors, Inc., 795 S.W.2d 266, 1990 WL 112526 (Tex. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

ABOUSSIE, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment. We will affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The summary judgment record reveals that on February 23, 1988, eighteen-year-old Robert Kruse, along with eighteen-year-old Neal Boyd, drove to a “Pay-less” convenience store owned and operated by appellee. Kruse and Boyd entered the store, and Kruse purchased a twelve-pack of beer. The store clerk, Yvonne Peeler, did not ask Kruse for proof of his age. Kruse and Boyd returned to Boyd’s apartment where they spent the next hour drinking the beer and playing board games. Kruse drank six beers. During this time, their girlfriends and two other friends arrived to visit; however, none of them drank. Kruse and Boyd decided to purchase more beer. While Boyd remained at the apartment, Kruse and his girlfriend, Kristi Roberts, drove to the Pay-less store. Roberts remained in the car while Kruse entered the store alone and purchased a six-pack of beer from Peeler. When Kruse and Roberts returned to the apartment, Boyd and Kruse resumed their drinking and visiting for the next hour and a half. Kruse and Boyd consumed no alcohol other than that Kruse had purchased at the Pay-less store.

Roberts received a call from a former boyfriend during this time which upset Kruse. Kruse and Boyd then decided to go for a drive. Kruse does not remember who made the decision, but one of the friends at the apartment, Tiffany West, stated in an affidavit that Kruse insisted on going for a drive and that Boyd agreed to go out of concern for Kruse. Boyd drove his car, and Kruse rode as a passenger. Boyd lost control of his vehicle and collided with an embankment. The car vaulted into a tree, killing Boyd and severely injuring Kruse. Subsequent tests showed that Boyd's blood alcohol level was .14, and that Kruse’s was .17.

Appellants sought recovery on several grounds. The first was for the alleged violation of Tex.Alco.Bev.Code Ann. §§ 2.01-2.03 (Supp.1990). 1 These statutes *269 create a cause of action based upon providing, selling, or serving an alcoholic beverage to one who is obviously intoxicated when the recipient’s intoxication is a proximate cause of damages. Because neither boy had been drinking before the first purchase, this statutory action could arise only in connection with the second beer purchase. The second cause of action was for negligence, based upon facts appellants claim entitle them to recover for violation of Tex.Alco.Bev.Code Ann. § 106.03(a) (Supp.1990). 2 This statute makes it an offense to sell an alcoholic beverage to a minor if the sale is committed with criminal negligence. A “minor” is defined in the Code as a person under twenty-one years of age. Section 106.01.

Appellee moved for summary judgment on several grounds. First, it contended that the proof established that when Kruse made the second purchase he was not, nor did he appear to be, obviously intoxicated to a dangerous extent. Second, it argued that although Kruse was the recipient of the alcohol, Kruse’s intoxication could not have been the proximate cause of any damages because Boyd was the driver of the car. Appellee claimed that the summary judgment record established that there was no issue of material fact regarding these essential elements of the appellants’ cause of action pursuant to section 2.01 et seq. Finally, appellee argued that any action pursuant to section 106.03(a) is barred because section 2.02 creates the exclusive remedy for one damaged by the provision of an alcoholic beverage to a person eighteen years of age or older. Section 2.03. The trial court rendered summary judgment in appellee’s favor.

When a defendant moves for summary judgment without asserting an affirmative defense, it bears the burden of showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists as to at least one element of each of plaintiff's causes of action and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Gray v. Bertrand, 723 S.W.2d 957, 958 (Tex.1987); Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970); Manoogian v. Lake Forest Corp., 652 S.W.2d 816, 818 (Tex.App.1983, writ ref’d n.r.e.). On appeal of a summary judgment that does not confine itself to any legal theory urged in the motion, an appellant must show that each of the independent arguments advanced in the motion is insufficient to support the judgment. Tilotta v. Goodall, 752 S.W.2d 160, 161 (Tex.App.1988, writ denied). In deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue, we will take as true all evidence favorable to the non-movant and will resolve any doubt and make every reasonable inference in favor of the non-movant. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985).

As appellants state in their brief, in order to recover under section 2.02 they must prove:

1. That at the time the alcohol was provided to the recipient it was apparent to the provider that the individual being sold, served, or provided with an alcoholic beverage was obviously intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others [§ 2.02(b)(1)]; and,
2. The intoxication of the recipient of the alcoholic beverage was a proximate cause of the damages suffered [§ 2.02(b)(2)].

By their second point of error, appellants complain that the trial court erred in rendering summary judgment because the record shows that two genuine issues of material fact remain in dispute with respect to this statutory cause of action, those being: (1) whether Kruse appeared to appellee obviously intoxicated to the dangerous extent required; and (2) whether recipient Kruse’s intoxication was a proximate cause of appellants’ injuries.

In their first contention, appellants argue that there is a material fact issue as to whether Kruse appeared to Peeler to be *270 obviously intoxicated to a dangerous extent when he made his second beer purchase. In support of its motion, appellee produced deposition testimony from Kruse in which he described what he believed to be his condition at the time. He stated, “my speech wasn’t slurred, and I guess I was walking all right.” He also stated that he had no trouble driving to the store. Appel-lee argues that Kruse’s testimony establishes as a matter of law that when he purchased beer the second time he did not appear obviously intoxicated to the extent that he presented a clear danger to himself and others. Kruse further testified, however, that at the time of the purchase he had consumed six beers in an hour, that he was feeling the effects of the alcohol, and that he was intoxicated when he made the purchase. The record does not contain any evidence from Peeler as to what she observed or what had been apparent to her.

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Bluebook (online)
795 S.W.2d 266, 1990 WL 112526, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boyd-v-fuel-distributors-inc-texapp-1990.