Palacio v. AON Props., Inc

In Palacio v. AON Props., Inc., 110 S.W.3d 493, 499 (Tex. App.--Waco 2003, no pet.), a man was shot in his apartment by people who came to the door at 1 a.m. and asked for him by name. 110 S.W.3d at 495. The court held that the targeted nature of the shooting overcame any general responsibility of the apartment complex for protecting residents. The court held that the fact that Palacio's roommate opened the door to the shooters and Palacio went to meet them showed that they would not have been deterred even had security officers questioned the shooters regarding their intentions. Id. at 499. Fifth Club also relies on Price, in which a bar patron who was severely beaten for up to three minutes with a pool cue and barstool alleged that the bar negligently provided inadequate security. 104 S.W.3d at 332. The expert testified that the bar's security officers should have responded within 30 seconds to the beating and would thereby have prevented some of the victim's injuries. Id. at 333. After a non-jury trial, the trial court awarded damages to the plaintiff. Id. at 332. The court of appeals reversed, noting that the expert did not opine that the guards could have responded in 30 seconds and merely speculated that the victim's injuries would have been prevented by such timelier intervention. Id.