East Texas Theatres Inc. v. Rutledge 9/29/11 11:35 AM

Plaintiff: East Texas Theatres

Defendant: Rutledge

Procedural History:

Rutledge brought damage suit alleging personal injuries at theatre

owned by East Texas.

Plaintiff, Rutledge received judgment of 31,250

Facts:

Rutledge attended a midnight showing at the paramount theatre

Essentially, as she was leaving the completion of the movie,

someone from the balcony threw a whiskey bottle toward the lower

seating striking Rutledge in the left ear.

Theatre found to be negligent b/c people in balcony were acting

rowdy and employees of theatre failed to act.

o They were hollering throughout the movie

Issue: The error of the Court of Civil Appeals in holding that there was any

probative evidence of record to support the jury finding on proximate cause

and 2.) The error of the court of civil appeals in holding that the testimony

was sufficient to prove a causal connection between the alleged injuries and

her subsequent complaints of chronic headaches.

Rule: proximate cause has two elements

There must be cause in fact- a cause which produces an event and

without which the event would not have occurred

And foreseeability

Holding: Recognize that the theatre was under a duty to exercise reasonable

care for the safety of its patrons, however operators of theatres are not

insurers of their patrons safety. But-test purely speculation

Disposition: Reversed

9/29/11 11:35 AM

9/29/11 11:35 AM