Opinion ID: 2829004
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: If a Duty Arose to Act During the Fight, the Standard of Conduct to Which Del Lago Is Held Is Very High

Text: The case was submitted to the jury on a premises liability charge, and the Court confirms liability against Del Lago on a negligent activity analysis. If the case had been submitted as a negligent activity claim, then the jury would properly have considered whether Del Lago breached its duty to use ordinary care to make the premises reasonably safe once the altercation broke out. S ee E. Tex. Theatres, Inc. v. Rutledge , 453 S.W.2d 466, 469–70 (Tex. 1970). Smith argues that the Bar staff should have taken timely steps to stop the altercation. On the issue of breach of that duty, the evidence shows that the security personnel’s response times that evening were exemplary, 6 and the liability finding in spite of the security response would be concerning, but for some evidence of delay in calling security sufficient that the jury could conclude that Del Lago breached this duty, as the facts show. Once the fight began, the bartender and one of the waitresses took action. Duncan immediately attempted to break up the fight, while Sweet called security. Sweet testified that she was in shock when the fight arose, such that she could not immediately find the number. A sticker on the phone itself instructed “Dial 0 for Emergency,” which directly connected to Del Lago’s security when dialed. Instead, the waitress dialed the front desk, obtained the number for security, and then quickly gave it to another bar employee to alert security. Smith does not argue that the delay by the waitress in calling the front desk rather than security directly was a breach of Del Lago’s duty. That is the only delay in this sequence of events that occurred that could constitute a breach. Del Lago’s security force responded promptly to the calls. Sanchez, the first officer on the scene, arrived at the bar fifteen to twenty seconds after being called, and the fight was over when he got there. The other two officers arrived after Sanchez, within two to three minutes of being called. None of these facts is disputed. These are the response times we want in security personnel. I am persuaded not to conclude that Del Lago did not breach its duty in this regard only because of the one piece of evidence that is barely sufficient but on which the jury could conclude there was a breach—i.e., the waitress’s testimony that it took her about three to four minutes to get the proper telephone number and give it to another employee to make the call to security. I would be concerned if the message from the Court is to hold premises owners to a standard of perfection, instead of a standard of reasonable care.