Suit Claims Teen Died in Accident After Party at Home of Ex-Texas Chief Justice
The parents of a teen girl killed in a car accident last year claim in a lawsuit that she had been at a drinking party that night outside the home of former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips.
The suit claims Phillips and his wife were “were well aware that minors were getting drunk in their backyard” the evening of the accident, Texas Lawyer reports. The complaint (PDF posted by Am Law) alleges the couple’s son, Daniel, had encouraged teen Audrey King to drink large amounts of alcohol before she died in a car driven by another youth who had attended the party.
The suit claims that Phillips’ wife broke up the party because it got too loud, yelling, “I am sick of these kids partying here all of the time.”
Phillips is now a partner in the Austin office of Baker Botts, the story says.
Phillips’ lawyer Richard Mithoff issued a statement to Texas Lawyer saying Justice Phillips and his wife “categorically deny” that they were aware of teens drinking in their backyard that night and that their home was the site of frequent drinking parties.
