Pena v. Van

OPINION

O’CONNOR, Justice.

This appeal is from a summary judgment, granted in the defendant’s favor, in a lawsuit arising out of the assault and murder of two young girls. We examine whether proximate and superseding cause may be decided as a matter of law in the context of this summary judgment. We reverse.

Facts

The following facts are undisputed. Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 14, were brutally sexually assaulted and murdered by gang members when they happened across the gang’s initiation ceremony late one night. Five of the assailants, all 17 to 18 years old, were tried, convicted,…