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plaintiffnegligencestatuteappealadoptioncommon lawlegislative intent
tortplaintiffstatuteappealtrialsummary judgmentadoptioncommon law

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Dugger v. Arredondo, 408 S.W.3d 825, 56 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1099

Facts

Geoffrey Dugger and Joel Martinez consumed alcohol and drugs, including heroin, at Dugger's home. After Martinez began to choke and vomit, Dugger delayed calling 911, instead contacting Martinez's mother, who advised him to let Martinez sleep it off. Eventually, Dugger's father called 911, but by the time help arrived, Martinez had died from alcohol poisoning, with no mention of heroin use communicated to the paramedics. Arredondo, Martinez's mother, sued Dugger for wrongful death, claiming negligence in failing to call for help and disclose the heroin use.

On February 2, 2007, Geoffrey Dugger went to his friend Joel Martinez's house. While getting ready to leave the house, Dugger saw Martinez put in his pocket 'cheese'—a mixture of black-tar heroin and Tylenol PM.

Issue

Whether the common law unlawful acts doctrine is available as an affirmative defense to completely bar a plaintiff's recovery in wrongful death cases in light of Texas's proportionate responsibility scheme and the statutory affirmative defense provided in section 93.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

The issue before us is whether the common law unlawful acts doctrine remains available as an affirmative defense to completely bar a plaintiff's recovery in tort cases in light of Texas's proportionate responsibility scheme and the Legislature's more recent enactment providing for an affirmative defense based on a plaintiff's felonious conduct.

Rule

The common law unlawful acts doctrine cannot be used as an affirmative defense under the proportionate responsibility framework in wrongful death actions, as the Legislature intended for a plaintiff's illegal conduct not recognized by statute to be apportioned rather than completely barring recovery.

We hold that the Legislature's adoption of the proportionate responsibility scheme in Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code evidenced its clear intention that a plaintiff's illegal conduct not falling within a statutorily-recognized affirmative defense be apportioned rather than barring recovery completely.

Analysis

The court analyzed the interaction between the common law unlawful acts doctrine and the statutory framework established by the Texas Legislature. It concluded that the adoption of the proportionate responsibility scheme in Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code indicated a clear legislative intent to allow for apportionment of responsibility rather than a complete bar to recovery based on a plaintiff's illegal conduct. The court emphasized that the unlawful acts doctrine is incompatible with this scheme.

We conclude that it is not. The plain language of section 33.003 clearly indicates that the common law unlawful acts doctrine is no longer a viable defense.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals' judgment, holding that the common law unlawful acts doctrine is not a viable defense in wrongful death cases under the proportionate responsibility framework.

Accordingly, we affirm the court of appeals' judgment that reversed the summary judgment and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

Who won?

Arredondo prevailed in the case because the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals' ruling that the common law unlawful acts doctrine could not be used as a complete bar to recovery, allowing her wrongful death claim to proceed.

Arredondo sued Dugger under the wrongful death and survival statutes, alleging that Dugger was negligent both in failing to call 911 immediately and in failing to disclose Martinez's heroin use to the paramedics.

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