Moore v. El Paso Chamber of Commerce

The El Paso Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) (defendant) promoted its rodeo by encouraging western dress and letting volunteer "ropers" corral and lightly shock anyone in public not dressed western, until they bought rodeo tickets or neckerchiefs; volunteer roper Claude Weaver and two others approached Moore (plaintiff) and her mother saying "Let's get that girl," and Moore ran into a hotel drugstore and then tried to escape into an adjoining hotel, putting her hand through a glass door panel and suffering severe cuts. The jury found the ropers acted within the Chamber's scope of authority, Weaver was negligent, and Moore suffered damages, but also found Moore contributorily negligent, leading the trial court to bar her recovery entirely; Moore appealed.