In Texas, until recently, the law has been that if a property owner knows about a hazardous condition on their property, the owner can protect against liability for injuries by warning others about the dangerous condition. However, the Texas Supreme Court recently held that, in some cases, not even the strongest warning is enough to protect a property owner.
In Del Lago v. Smith, Smith was at a fraternity party held at the Del Lago resort. Over the course of the evening, the fraternity got into a verbal argument with a wedding party also celebrating at the resort. Both the fraternity and the wedding party got increasingly drunk as the night wore on, and eventually the argument turned into a physical fight. Smith got involved and suffered a fractured skull.
The Texas Supreme Court held that, because Del Lago was aware the argument was likely to turn into a fight and had over an hour and a half to break it up before the fight started, Del Lago was therefore liable for not taking a “reasonably prudent” action to prevent the fight from hurting Smith or other patrons. The Court stated that “in some circumstances, no warning can be adequate,” but it did not explain how to recognize situations in which no warning could be enough.
Protecting patrons from injury is part of a business’s duty under Texas law. When a business’s negligence or carelessness leads to a patron getting hurt, the business may be liable under Texas premises liability law for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages. This rule reminds businesses yet again to watch out for their patrons to avoid a Texas premises liability case.
