Mitchell v. Gonzales

Opinion

LUCAS, C. J.

In this case we decide whether BAJI No. 3.75,1 the so-called proximate cause instruction, which contains a “but for” test of cause in fact, should continue to be given in this state, or whether it should be disapproved in favor of BAJI No. 3.76, the so-called legal cause instruction, which employs the “substantial factor” test of cause in fact.2

Plaintiffs James and Joyce Mitchell, the parents of 12-year-old Damechie Mitchell, who drowned in Lake Gregory on July 4, 1985, sued defendants Jose L. Gonzales, Matilde Gonzales, and Mrs. Gonzales’s son Luis (hereafter defendants)…