Doe v. Messina, 349 S.W.3d 797

Doe, age 16, sues Messina and Fields for ordinary negligence, gross negligence, and premises liability arising from a sexual assault at the guest house after a teen party.
Messina owned lake house property in Austin; guest house hosted teens during October 2005 celebration for his sons’ 18th birthdays.
Doe attended the party and, after sleeping on a couch, was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old attendee (Kervin) at the guest house.
Messina and Fields were sued for negligently supervising or controlling the teenagers and allowing alcohol and drugs on the premises.
The trial court granted summary judgment for appellees on all claims; Doe’s claims were severed and appealed.
Doe’s mother testified about assurances of welcome for Doe and her brother to stay at the guest house; Doe presented deposition excerpts from Messina regarding supervision and drug/alcohol use at the guest house.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether there was proper proximate-cause for ordinary negligence	Doe	Messina/Fields	No proximate cause; Kervin’s sexual assault was a superseding cause.

Pena v. Pena, 990 S.W.2d 754 (Tex. 1999) (superseding-criminal act factors; ordinary-consequence test)
Nabors Drilling, U.S.A., Inc. v. Escoto, 288 S.W.3d 401 (Tex. 2009) (three elements of negligence; proximate cause)
Doe v. Boys Clubs of Greater Dallas, Inc., 907 S.W.2d 472 (Tex. 1995) (foreseeability and proximate cause standards)
Del Lago Partners, Inc. v. Smith, 307 S.W.3d 762 (Tex. 2010) (foreseeability and intervening-cause considerations)
Urena v. W. Inv. Corp., 162 S.W.3d 547 (Tex. 2005) (summary judgment standards; no evidence standard)
Donnell v. Spring Sports, Inc., 920 S.W.2d 378 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1996) (premises liability and supervision context)