Opinion ID: 1719496
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: pertinent law from other jurisdictions

Text: This court has not previously decided the questions presented. [12] However, other jurisdictions have considered similar problems. The issue of a business establishment's liability to a patron for criminal assault by a third party is discussed in Banks v. Hyatt Corporation, 722 F.2d 214 (5 Cir., 1984). Although Banks dealt with an innkeeper's liability, any business which invites the company of the public must take reasonably necessary acts to guard against the predictable risk of assaults. 722 F.2d 214 at 227. Also see Walkoviak v. Hilton Hotels Corp., 580 S.W.2d 623 (Tex.App., 1979). A business proprietor owes a duty to those entering its premises to provide a reasonably safe place. Butler v. Acme Markets, Inc., 89 N.J. 270, 445 A.2d 1141 (1982). In Butler security was also being furnished through the services of an off duty police officer, and a jury verdict for plaintiff was affirmed despite the lack of expert testimony as to the appropriate standard of care. As in this case, there was a question of placement involved and Butler holds that a security guard who is not properly positioned to respond to foreseeable attacks can furnish a basis for liability. A duty of protection which has been voluntarily assumed must be performed with due care. Mullins v. Pine Manor College, 389 Mass. 47, 449 N.E.2d 331 (1983). Whether violence which results from the breach of such a duty is reasonably foreseeable and a cause-in-fact of an injury to a third person is a jury question. Lay v. Munford, Inc., 235 Ga. 340, 219 S.E.2d 416 (1975), reversing Munford, Inc. v. Lay, 134 Ga.App. 642, 216 S.E.2d 123 (1975). Also see Gomez by and through Munoz v. Ticor, 145 Cal.App.3d 622, 193 Cal.Rptr. 600 (1983). An expert's opinion based on facts in evidence is sufficient proof of causation. Mullins, supra, 449 N.E.2d 331 at 339. A business which undertakes to hire a security guard to protect itself and its patrons is liable for physical harm which occurs because of negligence on the part of that guard. Tucker v. Sandlin, 126 Mich.App. 701, 337 N.W.2d 637 (1983). When a security guard fails to act in accordance with established policies and procedures and that negligence is a substantial factor in bringing about injury to a third party, it can support a jury finding of causation. McClure v. Allied Stores of Texas, Inc., 608 S.W.2d 901 (Tex., 1980). DUTY-RISK ANALYSIS: Louisiana has for some time employed the duty-risk analysis to determine legal responsibility in tort claims. [13] The pertinent inquiries are: I. Whether the conduct of which plaintiff complains was a cause-in-fact of the harm; II. Whether there was a duty on the part of the defendant which was imposed to protect against the risk involved; III. Whether there was a breach of that duty; and IV. Damages.
The jury found, in answer to a specific interrogatory, that officer Maxie Walker's negligence was a cause-in-fact of plaintiffs' harm. Dean Prosser has wisely observed that the determination of cause-in-fact can be made as ably by the average citizen on a jury as by the most learned of judges. This thought is part of the Louisiana tradition which gives great deference to the findings of the trier of fact, be it jury or judge. Canter v. Koehring Company, 283 So.2d 716 (La., 1973); Arceneaux v. Domingue, 365 So.2d 1330 (La., 1978), on remand 370 So.2d 1262 (La.App. 3 Cir.1979), writ denied 374 So.2d 660 (La., 1979). However, a troublesome problem illustrated by the present case is that the reviewing court often does not have the advantage of knowing exactly what act or omission the jury found to be a cause-in-fact. As noted above, the charges of negligence against Walker boil down to the claims that he shot first; that he failed to be in a proper position, at or near the door, as a visible deterrent to potential armed robbers; and that, when confronted with the shotgun, he moved provoking the robber to fire the fatal shot. If the jury found that the evidence supported the allegation that Walker shot first, the conclusion would be simple and direct that he instigated gun play inside a crowded restaurant and the liability of defendants would be clear. Defendants argue and the court of appeal found that the record does not support the theory that Walker shot first. Indeed, counsel for plaintiffs do not argue this point strenuously and the record, while it contains some evidence that Walker fired first, cannot be said to fairly preponderate toward that conclusion. If the question of the first shot were the only one under review, the court of appeal judgment should be affirmed. However, there were various derelictions of duty by Walker as a security guard prior to the shooting. [14] The jury could well have found that the officer's conduct was a cause-in-fact of the resulting harm. There is considerable expert testimony concerning security guards. The experts all agree that officer Walker should have maintained a high visibility. Common-sense confirms the lay and expert testimony; potential robbers who see an armed and uniformed police officer guarding the door of a restaurant are unlikely to attempt criminal activity at that location. The Pizza Hut was in a high crime area. Although Walker had no actual notice that 9:00 to 10:00 P.M. was a peak danger period, the Pizza Hut's knowledge of this fact would be imputed to him. A robbery was reasonably forseeable and more probable than the ordinary random crime. There was evidence that the hiring of a security guard had resulted in an interruption of criminal activity and that this particular armed robbery would not have occurred if the robbers had known that a security guard was present. The jury may well have concluded that the security guard who was hired to protect the patrons and property of the restaurant was negligent in carrying out his duties by failing to station himself at the door or just outside the door of the restaurant. There is also the matter of the guard moving in the face of the shotgun. While the record shows that the Thomas youth moved just prior to the blast, the evidence also preponderates to the effect that officer Walker moved at this point. Walker's own statements and testimony support this conclusion. While it is difficult to fault a man in Walker's perilous situation, there was certainly sufficient evidence from which a jury could have concluded that Maxie Walker's reaction to the leveled shotgun was negligent and resulted in the death of Veletter Harris and the injury to Zina Harris. Therefore, there is a view of the evidence on which the jury could have found conduct by Walker which was a cause-in-fact of the shooting. It is true that the shooting was apparently an intentional act on the part of the robber. However, applying the but for test, one concludes that, but for Walker's lack of visibility, the robbers would not have entered the Pizza Hut, and, but for Walker moving when ordered not to do so by the robber, the shotgun probably would not have been fired and the harm would not have resulted. It follows that the court of appeal was wrong in substituting its judgment for that of the jury as to Walker's conduct being a cause-in-fact.
The next question is whether there was a duty owed to the Harris' by the defendant Pizza Hut which protected against the risk involved. Duty is a question of law. Generally, there is no duty to protect others from the criminal activities of third persons. [15] Restatement of Torts Second, § 314 (1965); Prosser Law of Torts, § 33 at pp. 173-174 (4th Edition, 1971). However, when a duty to protect others against such criminal misconduct has been assumed, liability may be created by a negligent breach of that duty. Restatement of Torts Second, § 324A; Prosser, supra, pp. 174-176. Respondents correctly point out the deficiencies of the interrogatories propounded to the jury by the trial court. The interrogatories inquired only whether Walker was negligent, whether his negligence was a cause-in-fact of the injuries, and the amount of the damages. The trial court should have instructed the jury as to the duty owed by the Pizza Hut to its patrons and should have inquired whether there had been a breach of that duty. The duty was to provide the patrons with a reasonably safe place to purchase and consume food. The circumstances establish that this armed robbery was foreseeable and more than a mere possibility. The guard was there to prevent financial loss to the restaurant, assure the patrons that the premises were safe, and otherwise create what turned out to be an illusory impression of security. It is unnecessary to decide how many prior criminal acts create a duty to hire a private guard because the Pizza Hut had recognized that the risk of crime on these premises was sufficiently foreseeable to require special protection. Whether this Pizza Hut had a duty to hire security guards is irrelevant. There was a security guard. Since the Pizza Hut was furnishing security through the services of a trained police officer, the question is whether the security guard breached his duty by adequate measures to protect those on the premises. Thus, the question is not whether the Pizza Hut was required to have a security guard on the premises, but whether its security guard breached the applicable standard of care. [16] The Pizza Hut had already accepted the duty of hiring a security guard on the date of the shooting between the hours of 9:00 and 1:00 A.M. Once employed, the security guard was under a duty to discharge his obligations in a reasonable and prudent manner, and especially not to contribute by his act or omission to an escalation of violence during an armed robbery which resulted in patrons being wounded and killed. Therefore, while it would have been preferable for the trial court to have charged the jury as to what duty Pizza Hut had toward its patrons, the duty existed as a matter of law and the third inquiry is whether there was a breach by negligent conduct.
The inquiry is whether the duty was violated, [17] but there is also a requirement that the breach must be negligent, substandard or blameworthy. [18] The answer to this question is intertwined in the consideration of causation. Where a duty has been assumed to provide a security guard, it is necessary to decide whether that guard was acting with reasonable care in preventing the harm incurred. Walker's breach of the duty owed to the patrons is established by the record. Walker was hired to deter crime; he was not hired to take a salad break during the period of greatest danger at the restaurant, that is, between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. He was not hired to sit inattentatively among the customers; he was not hired to converse with Thomas; and he was not hired to bring or read books on the job. Failure of Walker to be alert and visible at the time of the crime constituted a breach of his duty to patrons of the Pizza Hut. Further, the expert testimony established that his movement in the face of the shotgun was a breach of his duty to others in the restaurant.
That the plaintiffs suffered actual damage is not open to question. The parties have not argued quantum and the amounts awarded appear to be within the discretion of the jury. Therefore, for the reasons assigned the judgment of the court of appeal is reversed, and the judgment of the trial court is reinstated. REVERSED; TRIAL COURT JUDGMENT REINSTATED. MARCUS, J., dissents. DENNIS, J., concurs with reasons. BLANCHE, J., dissents and assigns reasons.