Brown v. Kerr

Clayton Kerr (Clayton) lived with his parents, Phillip and Judy Kerr (defendants). On the morning before he turned 21 years old, Clayton woke up and, as he typically did, snorted a line of cocaine and took Xanax. Clayton drank a fifth of whiskey with crushed Lortabs, snorted more cocaine, took more Xanax, and then smoked two marijuana joints. Clayton went to the apartment of his friend, Roy. There, Clayton smoked more marijuana. That marijuana, Clayton claimed, hit him harder than normal. Clayton would later testify that he thinks the marijuana at Roy’s was laced with crack cocaine. Afterward, while still high, Clayton shot Roy in the head with a gun that Clayton had stolen from the Kerrs’ gun safe. Roy’s mother, Mrs. Brown (plaintiff), sued the Kerrs for negligence on Roy’s behalf. Clayton and the Kerrs testified that the Kerrs were not fully aware of the extent of Clayton’s drug use. Clayton revealed he hid drugs in a secret compartment in his closet. The Kerrs did not knowingly keep alcohol in the home. Clayton had previously accessed the gun safe without permission. His goal had been to steal money or medication. After that, to prevent Clayton from accessing the gun safe, the Kerrs kept the gun safe locked and the keys on their persons. Clayton had access again to the gun safe only because he, without the Kerrs’ knowledge or permission, had surreptitiously made duplicate keys. Clayton and the Kerrs’ testimony was that Clayton’s only other violent behavior was when Clayton was 12 years old. Brown produced evidence that Clayton had a history of drug use in high school. The trial court ruled that, as to the Kerrs, Clayton stealing their gun and killing Roy was not foreseeable. Brown appealed.