Blount v. Bordens, Inc

In Blount v. Bordens, Inc., 910 S.W.2d 931, 932-933 (Tex. 1995), the issue was whether two men killed in a motor vehicle accident had a community of pecuniary interest sufficient for a joint enterprise. The men were hauling two racehorses to Texas when their pickup collided with a milk truck. The father of one testified that his son had said before he left to pick up the horses that when he returned he would be able to "take care of" an insurance payment due on his car. The Court concluded that the father's testimony would not support an inference that his son was to be compensated, along with the other man on the trip, for hauling the horses to Texas. Rather, we said, the testimony "could give rise to any number of inferences, none more probable than another." That is, the son may well have meant nothing more by his statement to his father than that he would pay his bills when he returned. The Court added: "A jury may not infer an ultimate fact from such evidence." Id. at 933.