Garvey v. Vawter

This is a summary judgment case. Frank Garvey filed suit to recover property damages sustained when Lisa Vawter’s automobile, which had been stolen, struck Garvey’s boat business. Garvey alleged in his petition that his damages were “proximately caused by the negligence of Vawter in leaving her keys in the automobile while the same was unguarded.” The trial court granted Vawter’s motion for summary judgment on the pleadings on the ground that Vawter’s actions could not, as a matter of law, be the proximate cause of Garvey’s damages. The court of appeals reversed, stating that the trial…