In re 7-Eleven, Inc.

1

IN RE 7-ELEVEN, INC. AND LOUIE'S BACKYARD, INC.

No. 13-22-00464-CV

Court of Appeals of Texas, Thirteenth District, Corpus Christi-Edinburg

January 20, 2023

On Petition for Writ of Mandamus.

Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Benavides and Tijerina

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GINA M. BENAVIDES Justice ^[1]

By petition for writ of mandamus, relators 7-Eleven, Inc. and Louie's Backyard, Inc. contend that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to grant their motions for leave to designate responsible third parties.^[2] See Tex Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 33.004. We conditionally grant the petition for writ of mandamus in part and deny it in part.

I. Background

This case arises from a single car automobile accident resulting in severe personal injury and death. On Sunday, May 17, 2020 sisters Maranda Longoria and Merina Longoria, and their minor daughters, respectively, J.S.C. and K.L., and Merina's boyfriend, Emmanuel Guerra, travelled from McAllen, Texas, to South Padre Island for a trip to the beach. During the course of the day and evening, the adults consumed alcoholic beverages during the drive, at the beach, at Louie's Backyard during dinner, and at a bar called Laguna Bob's. They also purchased additional alcohol at a Stripes convenience store. At some point during the day, they were joined by a friend, Randy Ray Padilla.

In the early morning hours of May 18, 2020, while traveling back home, these parties were involved in an automobile accident near San Benito, Texas, in which their car spun out of control and rolled over several times. J.S.C. died as a result of her injuries, Merina suffered head injuries and paralysis, and K.L. suffered serious bodily injuries. Maranda, who was driving, was charged with intoxication manslaughter and assault.^[3]Yomeida Perez Longoria, who is the mother and grandmother of the females involved in the crash filed suit individually and as next friend of Merina and K.L. and as representative of the estate of J.S.C. (real parties) against Laguna Bob, LLC,^[4] Louie's Backyard, and 7-Eleven^[5] alleging that they were negligent in their provision of alcohol and asserting liability under the Texas Dram Shop Act. See Tex. Alco. Bev. Code Ann. §§ 2.01-.03.

Subsequently, Guerra filed a petition in intervention also raising negligence and dram shop claims against these same defendants. 7-Eleven filed a third party petition against Maranda. Robert Cardenas,^[6] father to decedent J.S.C., also filed a petition in intervention. The real parties subsequently filed a first amended original petition including claims against individual employees who worked for the defendants based on respondeat superior.

During the course of litigation, relators filed various motions for leave to designate responsible third parties. On August 27, 2021, 7-Eleven filed a motion for leave to designate Padilla as a responsible third party based generally on Padilla's provision of alcohol to Maranda. In its motion, relator alleged:

On Monday May 18, 2020, at around 1:45 a.m., [Maranda], Third Party Defendant, lost control of the Ford Expedition SUV she was driving on the public roadways of Cameron County, Texas.

[Maranda] was found to be intoxicated, without the use of her mental and physical faculties, as she operated the SUV. The rollover incident caused the SUV's passengers to be ejected. The incident happened outside the City of San Benito, Texas.

Prior to the rollover crash, [Maranda], [Merina], [Guerra], [Padilla], and the daughters of Maranda and Merina, J.S.C. and K.L., respectively, had spent Sunday, May 17, 2021, hanging out and drinking in South Padre Island, Texas.

[Padilla], one of the male subjects in the group, bought Maranda and Merina alcoholic beverages.

[Padilla] knew or should have known that [Maranda's] driving privileges had been revoked by the State of Texas as a result of several arrests and convictions for DWI offenses.

Despite knowing that [Maranda] had previously been convicted for DWI and was currently on probation for drug possession, [Padilla] nevertheless[] bought and provided alcoholic beverages to Maranda and Merina. Both[] [Padilla] and [Guerra] were also aware that [Maranda] had a new pending DWI charge in Hidalgo County, Texas, and that Merina had also been previously convicted of DWI.

[Padilla] willingly, intentionally[,] and knowingly provided Maranda and Merina with copious amounts of alcohol.

Later in the evening, Guerra, the designated driver in the group, turned over the SUV to [Maranda] knowing that Maranda was highly intoxicated from all the alcohol bought and paid for by [Padilla].

As Maranda drove the SUV from South Padre Island to her home in McAllen, she lost control of the vehicle, causing the Expedition to roll over, which ultimately resulted in J.S.C., Maranda's own daughter, being ejected from the vehicle. J.S.C. died at the scene of the accident.

K.L. and her mother, [Merina], also suffered severe injuries, as did [Guerra], the purported "designated driver."

Because [Padilla's] actions contributed to J.S.C.'s death, and K.L.'s injuries, [7-Eleven] moves to designate him as a Responsible Third Party.

7-Eleven further alleged that Padilla "purchased and provided many alcoholic beverages to Maranda and Merina on the night of the incident," including "Buzz Balls and Budweiser Beer," that he was "known to party" with them, and that he knew Maranda was a "known DWI offender," and thus "his actions contributed to this tragedy."

On August 27, 2021, 7-Eleven also filed a motion for leave to designate two drag racers, John Doe I and John Doe II, as responsible third parties.^[7] The motion reiterated the factual underpinnings of the accident, and also stated that:

New evidence obtained through discovery in this case has revealed that [Maranda] was not only intoxicated while she was driving but she was also startled as she drove on the fast lane of the highway on the night of the incident.

Intervenor [Guerra] has detailed in his responses to discovery how [Maranda] was unable to maintain control of the Ford SUV, because she was cut off by the (2) two drag racers in pickup trucks that sped past Maranda's Ford Expedition SUV on the night in question.

Intervenor [Guerra] has further explained that [Maranda] panicked as she was cut off by the two drag racers and failed to control the SUV as the SUV left the expressway, due to Maranda swerving to avoid a collision.

7-Eleven included Guerra's responses to discovery in its motion for leave to designate the John Does. In his discovery responses, Guerra alleged that, at the time of the accident, their vehicle was in the fast lane near San Benito, Texas when two trucks passed at a high rate of speed and "cut [them] off," Maranda panicked and "acted erratically," and their vehicle "went off the expressway." 7-Eleven further stated that Maranda was under the influence of alcohol and lacked a valid driver's license, but alleged that "the two drag racers in pickup trucks also bear responsibility for having caused the conditions which ultimately caused the accident." According to 7-Eleven, the "criminal acts of racing on the highway, failing to control speed, failing to keep a proper distance, and following too closely, were also the proximate cause of the accident and the resulting injuries made the basis of this lawsuit."

The real parties filed objections to both motions for leave to designate responsible third parties. They alleged that the motions were "insufficient" because 7-Eleven "has failed to allege or identify sufficient facts to demonstrate" that Padilla or the John Does should be designated as responsible third parties. According to real parties, 7-Eleven "has not stated any facts that support the imposition of any duty owed" by Padilla to any of the [real parties]," and "[a]bsent the existence of any duty owed, there can be no breach of any duty, nor any causation of damages, and certainly there can be no basis for civil liability." They asserted that Padilla was not employed as a server for a commercial provider of alcohol, and that there is no social duty regarding the provision of alcohol.

Similarly, the real parties argued that 7-Eleven "has not stated sufficient facts to understand what duties were breached by Two Drag Drivers, how those duties were breached, and how they proximately caused damages to any of the [real parties]." According to the real parties, "[t]he facts asserted-that the alleged DRAG RACERS were speeding-does not explain how that foreseeably injured [real parties]." As with Padilla, the real parties asserted that the John Does did not have a duty to them, thus there could not be a basis for the John Does to be liable to the real parties for their damages. They further argued that the term "cut off" was ambiguous, that relators did not explain how such an action violated the law, and that "the actions of speeding and cutting off appear to be incongruous," and "therefore also fail to give [real parties] any understanding of the basis of purported liability."

On December 9, 2021, the trial court denied 7-Eleven's motion for leave to designate Padilla as a responsible third party, and, by separate order signed that same day, denied 7-Eleven's motion for leave to designate the John Does as responsible third parties. On or about April 11, 2022, 7-Eleven, Laguna Bob, and Louie's Backyard filed a joint motion for leave re-urging the designation of Padilla as a responsible third party. Their joint motion for leave adduced additional details regarding Padilla's actions based on information obtained during the discovery process.

The trial court held a hearing on August 17, 2022, addressing multiple issues, including the joint motion for leave re-urging the designation of Padilla...