A Texas appeals court delivered a counterintuitive ruling on supervisor duties at alcohol events
A Texas court ruled that telling a drunk employee not to drive at a company party shields employers from liability, even when tragedy strikes.
The January 30 decision from Texas's Eleventh Court of Appeals offers a surprising twist for anyone who manages workplace events. When a supervisor warns an intoxicated worker against getting behind the wheel, that warning does not open the company up to legal liability if the employee drives anyway and causes a fatal crash.
The case stemmed from a deadly February 8, 2023 accident involving Jesse Vasquez, who worked for CWJ Forklift Service. That evening, Vasquez had attended a work party where the company served tequila, whiskey, and beer on its premises. Maria Antonia Castillo Herrera, who later brought the lawsuit, claimed Vasquez became visibly drunk to the point of incapacity.
Teresa Jean James, one of the company's owners, noticed his condition. She told Vasquez not to leave because it was not safe for him to drive. But Vasquez left anyway. Later that night, driving at excessive speed, he crashed his vehicle and ejected his passenger, Felipe Oviedo Castillo, who died from his injuries.
Castillo's mother, Herrera, sued the company and its owners. Her argument seemed logical enough: the employer knew Vasquez was dangerously drunk, told him not to drive, but then let him leave anyway. That failure to stop him, she argued, made the...
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made an unfounded claim that the USS Abraham Lincoln was heavily damaged in an attack. U.S. Central Command denied the report. The IRGC said on Thur...