Mayer’s trial and appellate teams recently secured complete dismissal of the claims against our client on the eve of trial in a wrongful death shooting case in Dallas County.

After a shooting left one person dead and another seriously injured, the Plaintiffs sued the convenience store where the shooting occurred and other connected entities. After 18 months, the convenience store sued our client, who owned the neighboring property, asserting a contribution theory that our client was partially responsible for the events that led to the shooting.

Led by Wes Alost, our client answered the case just 75 days before trial—after the expert designation deadline had run and with hardly any time to get up to speed on the case, review thousands of pages of discovery materials, participate in scheduled depositions, or pursue dispositive motions. The trial court denied requests to continue the trial setting and adjust the pretrial deadlines, as well as a request to hear our client’s motion for summary judgment. The Friday before trial, Plaintiffs asserted direct claims against our client. We understand Plaintiffs intended to ask the jury to award well over $100 million to the Plaintiffs against the various defendants. 

To protect our client, our appellate team led by Andrew Upton sought mandamus relief at the Dallas Court of Appeals, which denied the petition. However, the Texas Supreme Court granted a stay of trial and requested a response to our petition for writ of mandamus.

Continuing to use every available option to defend our client, our team also sought dismissal via a Rule 166(g) and (p) Motion on the issue of duty, asking the trial court to recognize the lack of duty as a legal matter that would aid in disposition of the case. Following the Supreme Court’s stay of trial, the trial court granted the Motion, ruling that there was no evidence our client owed a legal duty or was responsible in contribution, and should therefore be dismissed.

This case demonstrates the depth of Mayer’s litigation team and the seamless ability of our trial and appellate counsel to work in tandem to advocate for our clients.

Our client was represented by partners Wesley S. Alost, Andrew J. Upton, and Kevin J. Keith, as well as senior attorney Amy L. Agnew and associates William S. Roberts and Chaz E. Lidia.

The trial court case is Jeff and Frazier, et al. v. R&B 1st Retail, LLC, No. DC-23-06669, 95th District Court of Dallas County, Texas. The Supreme Court case is In re 1001 San Jacinto, LLC, No. 25-0266.