Court Opinion

ID: 9676874
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:36:38.190443+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:52.015291
License: Public Domain

BURGESS, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The majority finds “no connection between the injury and the ongoing Pepsi display which would lead us to conclude that the injury occurred as a contemporaneous result of a negligent activity.” I disagree. There was testimony from the assistant store manager on duty that a soft drink company had a dem*887onstration/display dispensing free samples at the time of Mrs. Yeazey’s accident. Furthermore, a paper cup that looked like one of those used in the soft drink display was found where Mrs. Veazey had fallen. The store manager testified that whenever there was a soft drink demonstration customers would get the cups, throw them everywhere and sometimes spill “stuff” everywhere. The manager further agreed that the store had to be extra careful to keep the floors clean on those days when there were soft drink promotions. While Keetch v. The Kroger Co., 35 Tex.Sup.Ct.J. 796, 797 (June 3, 1992) is informative and instructive, it is the converse of the case before us. There, the supreme court upheld a Corbin submission when it stated: “The trial court properly did not submit a negligent activity theory of liability on these facts.” (emphasis added). In the case before us, we are called upon to review a submission based upon a negligent activity. The lesson of Keetch is to look at the facts. Here, the facts show an ongoing activity when the injury occurred. This is some evidence that Mrs. Veazey was injured as a contemporaneous result1 of the activity itself, which takes this case outside of Keetch and supports a submission under simple negligence. Therefore, I would overrule point of error number one.

. Unfortunately Justice Cook has inserted a new phrase into the jurisprudence of our state without suggesting a definition. What is "contemporaneous result"? Hopefully, the ultimate disposition of this case will tell us.