The Supreme Court of Texas recently determined that admiralty jurisdiction did not apply to a horrific drunk driving crash simply because the driver responsible for the crash had been drinking on a small, chartered fishing boat. The facts were not disputed. A technology company hosted a business retreat at a lodge in Aransas Pass near the Gulf of Mexico. On that retreat, one of the company’s clients drank excessively on a fishing boat. The boat returned to the lodge, at which time the client left to drive home. One-and-a-half hours later, the “significantly intoxicated” client crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a motorcycle. Both motorcycle riders lost their left legs. They sued the technology company, arguing that it negligently allowed their client to drink excessively. Texas does not recognize such social host liability, so the plaintiffs asserted that federal maritime law applied to the case because the client became intoxicatedRead more