Verdicts & Settlements
Ex-Texas Chief Justice Settles Suit Claiming Underage Drinking Party Caused Teen’s Death
Former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips has reached a tentative settlement in a suit claiming an underage drinking party outside his house led to the death of a teen girl in a car accident.
Phillips and his wife agreed to settle after mediation in the suit, brought by the girl’s parents, report the Tex Parte Blog of Texas Lawyer and KWTX.com. The amount was not disclosed.
The suit had claimed Phillips and his wife “were well aware that minors were getting drunk in their backyard” at the party hosted by their son in the summer of 2009. The teen, Audrey King, died in a car accident after she left the home. Tom Phillips, his wife and their son had denied the allegations.
Phillips is now a partner at Baker Botts.
