Phan Son Van v. Pena

in which Chief Justice PHILLIPS, Justice HECHT, Justice ENOCH, Justice OWEN, Justice BAKER, Justice HANKINSON, and Justice GONZALES joined.

In this case we decide whether proximate and superseding cause may be decided as a matter of law based upon the summary judgment proof. This lawsuit arises out of the brutal assault and murder of Elizabeth Peña, sixteen, and Jennifer Lee Ertman, fourteen, by six teenage gang members who had been drinking beer before the attack. The girls’ families sued P-One Food Store and its owner, Phan Son Van (collectively “Phan”), alleging that they negligently sold…