Opinion ID: 2639670
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The district court properly granted Harrah's summary judgment motion regarding Garcia and Lewis based on the merits of their case

Text: After filing its final summary judgment against all plaintiffs based on issue preclusion, the district court then granted Harrah's summary judgment motion regarding plaintiffs Garcia and Lewis based on the merits of their case. Harrah's argued that Metro was a superseding intervening cause of Garcia's and Lewis' harm, and therefore, Garcia and Lewis could not establish proximate cause. The district court did not make any findings of fact or conclusions of law regarding its decision. However, it noted on the record that Metro treated Garcia and Lewis badly, they had settled their federal case against Metro, and it had nothing to do with Harrah's. We conclude that the district court properly granted Harrah's summary judgment because Metro was a superseding intervening cause of Garcia's and Lewis' harm.
Garcia and Lewis were guests at Harrah's, attending the River Run event. They were not involved in the brawl and were not aware it had occurred when they encountered Metro. Outside the casino, police officers pointed their guns at Garcia and Lewis, told them to put their hands up, and handcuffed both of them. To handcuff Lewis, an officer took her by the arm and pushed her to the ground. During this process, the shoulder straps on her blouse and her bra slipped down her arm, exposing her breast. The officer then walked her to another area with her breast exposed. When Garcia commented to the officers about their rough treatment of Lewis, an officer struck him. The police detained Garcia and Lewis for hours, during which police denied Garcia's requests to return to his room for his evening dose of seizure medication. Garcia then suffered two seizures before an ambulance took him to the hospital. Garcia and Lewis sued Harrah's for premises liability, negligent training, negligent supervision, negligence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Harrah's argues that appellants cannot establish causation because Metro was solely responsible for appellants' harm and was a superseding intervening force regarding any duty Harrah's owed to appellants. We agree. Summary judgment is proper when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Wood v. Safeway, Inc., 121 Nev. 724, 729, 121 P.3d 1026, 1029 (2005). The substantive law determines which facts are material, and an issue is genuine when a rational trier of fact could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. at 731, 121 P.3d at 1031. To prevail on a negligence theory, a plaintiff generally must show that: (1) the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; (2) the defendant breached that duty; (3) the breach was the legal cause of the plaintiffs injury; and (4) the plaintiff suffered damages. Doud v. Las Vegas Hilton Corp., 109 Nev. 1096, 1100, 864 P.2d 796, 798 (1993). Here, there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding causation, and Harrah's is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. To prevail on their negligence claims, Garcia and Lewis must prove that Harrah's was the cause in fact and the foreseeable cause of their harm. Doud, 109 Nev. at 1105, 864 P.2d at 801. Harrah's was the actual cause of appellants' harm if its actions were a substantial factor in bringing about their injury. Id. at 1105, 864 P.2d at 801. On the other hand, foreseeability is a policy concern that limits Harrah's liability to only those harms with a reasonably close connection to its breach. Id. An intervening act will only be superseding and cut off liability if it is unforeseeable. Id. Thus, under Doud, we must examine whether Metro's acts were foreseeable, such that they were not superseding intervening events that would preclude Harrah's liability. See id. at 1106, 864 P.2d at 801-02. To determine whether an intervening cause is foreseeable, we consider several factors. These include whether (1) the intervention causes the kind of harm expected to result from the actor's negligence, (2) the intervening event is normal or extraordinary in the circumstances, (3) the intervening source is independent or a normal result of the actor's negligence, (4) the intervening act or omission is that of a third party, (5) the intervening act is a wrongful act of a third party that would subject him to liability, and (6) the culpability of the third person's intervening act. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 442 (1965). When a third party commits an intentional tort or a crime, the act is a superseding cause, even when the negligent party created a situation affording the third party an opportunity to commit the tort or crime. Id. § 448. In such a scenario, the negligent party will only be liable if he knew or should have known at the time of the negligent conduct that he was creating such a situation and that a third party might avail himself of the opportunity to commit such a tort or crime. Id. Here, Metro's acts were unforeseeable intentional torts and, therefore, were a superseding intervening cause, precluding Harrah's liability. Metro's intervention caused Lewis to be walked by police with her breast exposed, caused them both to be handcuffed and detained, and prevented Garcia from taking his medication, causing him to suffer seizures. This harm is not the type expected from Harrah's negligence in failing to protect its patrons from the criminal acts of the gangs. Harrah's negligence would cause harm such as patrons suffering injuries in the brawl or having their stay disrupted by the brawl. Metro's intentional mistreatment of Garcia and Lewis is extraordinary and outside the type of harm reasonably expected from Harrah's negligence. Also, although Metro's presence may be a normal result of Harrah's negligence, Metro's wrongful treatment of Garcia and Lewis was intentional and independent of Harrah's negligence. Further, Metro was a third party, and Harrah's itself was not involved in the altercation between Garcia and Lewis and Metro. Finally, Metro's treatment of Garcia and Lewis was wrongful and suggests a high degree of culpability. Thus, Metro's acts were unforeseeable because Harrah's could not have anticipated that Metro would take advantage of such an emergency to commit tortious acts against its patrons. After analyzing these considerations, we are persuaded that there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding the foreseeability of Metro's actions. Because Metro was a superseding intervening cause of Garcia's and Lewis' harm, they cannot establish causation against Harrah's. Therefore, a reasonable trier of fact could not find for Garcia and Lewis regarding their negligence claims against Harrah's, and Harrah's is therefore entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Thus, the district court properly granted Harrah's summary judgment motion against Garcia and Lewis on the merits of their case.