Davies v. Butler
Nevada Supreme Court
602 P.2d 605 (1979)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
John Davies died during an initiation ceremony into the Sundowners, a social drinking club. After three days of activities focused on drinking abilities, club members lined initiates up against a wall and made them drink large quantities of high-proof alcohol. Witnesses testified that Davies yelled “Stop” when club members punched him in the head and stomach, then fell to the ground and appeared unable to stand. Club members screamed and kicked at him, held him upright against a wall, and forced a bottle into his mouth. The initiates were then put in a pickup truck and driven some 40 to 50 miles away, where members discovered Davies had stopped breathing. Davies’s parents (plaintiffs) sued the club and nine of its members (defendants) for wrongful death. The trial judge instructed the jury that “[a] person may expressly or by voluntarily participating in an activity consent to an act which would otherwise be a battery.” After the jury voted 6-3 for the defendants, the Davieses appealed, arguing that the jury instruction given was prejudicial error.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Mowbray, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
