Geoffrey Dugger v. Mary Ann Arredondo, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Joel Martinez

in which Chief Justice JEFFERSON, Justice JOHNSON, Justice GUZMAN, Justice LEHRMANN, and Justice BOYD joined.

In this wrongful death suit, we consider the viability of the common law “unlawful acts doctrine” as an affirmative defense in light of Texas’s proportionate responsibility scheme and the statutory affirmative defense provided in section 93.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Under the unlawful acts doctrine, a plaintiff cannot recover damages if it can be shown that, at the time of injury, the plaintiff was engaged in an illegal act that contributed to the injury. See…