Dial “N” for “No Duty”

Gamble v. Anesthesiology Associates presented a tort claim, 2022-style, as follows:

• The accident. “Blain was also driving northbound on I-35 enroute to a business meeting in Oklahoma City for another Abeo client. During her drive, Richter called from his home in Kentucky to tell her he planned to announce his retirement to Anesthesiology Associates the next day. Blain answered the call on her hands-free Bluetooth device. She continued driving with her cruise control set at approximately eighty miles-per-hour while continuing the conversation. Blain hit and killed Gamble and the Good Samaritan. The accident investigation determined the collision occurred because of Blain’s inattentive driving while talking on the cellphone.
• Duty? “The critical fact in these cases [cited by Plaintiff] that is distinctly missing from the facts at hand is a passenger in close proximity distracting the driver. Here, the alleged distraction came from Richter’s phone call, which originated miles away in another state. Appellants have provided no Texas authority recognizing such an expansive duty. Until the Texas Supreme Court or the legislature indicates such a duty exists, we refuse to create one having such far-reaching implications for essentially all cellphone users anywhere in the world.” (emphasis added)

No. 05-20-01024-CV (July 21, 2022) (mem. op.).