Gray•Duffy Attorney Defends Client Against Liability from Gang Attack

March 2005

Rene M. Faucher of our Encino office recently obtained a defense verdict in a case where a patron from his client’s bar was stabbed in an adjacent parking garage. The plaintiff, a young man in his 30’s, had left the bar and when he entered the parking garage, he witnessed a gang of young men, possibly also recently from the bar, attack a security guard. Unbeknownst to the plaintiff, one of the gang flashed a knife at the security guard before the gang walked further into the parking garage.

While one of two security guards went to call the police, neither guard told the plaintiff about the knife. The plaintiff then witnessed the gang attack two gentlemen in the garage. The plaintiff and his two friends got out of their car and tried to break up the fight when neither of the security guards intervened. One of the gang stabbed the plaintiff, puncturing his lung, causing plaintiff to lose almost a year of work from network television.

The issues presented in the lawsuit included the duties of the bar pursuant to the lease, the City’s Conditional Use Permit, and verbal agreements with the garage owner who was the bar’s lessor. Other issues included breach of these duties and causation. The garage owner and bar’s lessor also sued the bar for contractual indemnity pursuant to the terms of the bar’s lease including attorneys fees and costs.

On the first day of trial before Judge David Schacter, the garage owner/bar’s lessor dismissed their cross complaint against the bar for contractual indemnity. After an eight-day trial, the jury concluded that the bar was not negligent, and although the garage owner was negligent, this negligence was not a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s stabbing.

Martin Rogalny v. Gitana Bar and Nightclub et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. EC036700

Please Note: This article is necessarily general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice with respect to any particular case. Readers should consult with an attorney before taking any action affecting their interests.