Gipson v. Kasey

150 P.3d 228 (2007)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D attended an employee holiday party hosted by the restaurant where he worked. Nathan Followill, and Followill's girlfriend, Sandy Watters were there. The restaurant provided beer for the guests. D brought whiskey to the party and he gave shots to others present, including Followill, who was twenty-one years old. D also brought pain pills containing oxycodone which he had been prescribed for back pain. On prior occasions, D had given pain pills to other co-workers for their recreational use. Watters asked d for some pain pills. D gave Watters eight pills, noting that they were of two different strengths. D knew that combining the pills with alcohol or taking more than the prescribed dosage could result in death, but he did not tell Watters this information. D also knew that Followill was interested in taking prescription drugs for recreational purposes because Followill had asked D for pills on prior occasions, but D had refused because he thought Followill was 'too stupid and immature to take drugs like that.' Followill took the pills from Waters. Followill became increasingly intoxicated. Around 1:00 a.m., Watters and Followill left the party. The next morning, Watters awoke to find that Followill had died in his sleep. The cause of death was the combined toxicity of alcohol and oxycodone. P, Followill's mother, filed a wrongful death action against D. The court granted summary judgment for D, finding that he owed Followill no duty of care and that Kasey's conduct had not proximately caused Followill's death because of the intervening acts of Watters and Followill. The court of appeals reversed. D did owe Followill a duty of care and that disputed facts precluded summary judgment on the issue of proximate cause. D appealed.