Judge Finds Event Venue Not Liable In 2020 Drunk Driving Fatality

The venue a driver under the influence of alcohol attended before killing another driver was found not liable by a Canadian County judge.

Malcolm Penney struck a vehicle driven by 19-year-old Marissa Murrow while he drove the wrong way on a highway back in Oct. 2020. Murrow died at the scene.

Penney was convicted of drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident in February of this year.

The parents of Murrow -- Jeffrey and Kristine Murrow -- filed a lawsuit against Penney, his wife, a security company, a food provider hired for the event and the venue where the event was held on the grounds that they should have known Penney was unable to legally operate his vehicle.

Related: Parents Of UCO Student Killed By Drunk Driver Take Edmond Wedding Venue To Court

Judge Jack McCurdy found the venue, The Springs Events, LLC, was not liable for his actions.

According to a motion, McCurdy said the issue raised in the defendant's motion was whether or not [The Springs Events] owed a duty to [the Murrow's] under Oklahoma law.

"The law being that 'a person has no duty to prevent a third person from causing a physical injury to another,'" McCurdy said in the motion. "This court is of the opinion that to find a 'duty' on the part of the defendant to the plaintiff in this case, would be an expansion of current Oklahoma law that doesn’t currently exist."