Opinion ID: 1190816
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: CHRISTEN v. LEE

Text: Robert S. Christen arrived at the bar of the South China Doll Restaurant (China Doll) close to midnight in the evening of October 26, 1984. Christen drank at the bar until it closed approximately 2 hours later. He testified that when the bar was closing, he left the bar area to use the restroom in the lobby of the China Doll. He states that upon leaving the restroom, he headed back toward the bar, but was then confronted by three individuals, all apparently regular patrons of the China Doll with whom Christen was not previously acquainted. According to Christen, these individuals were screaming and laughing; they punched him; and one of them brandished a gun and told him to get the hell out of here. Christen testified that he complied with their request to leave and that he was subsequently shot in the head on the walkway leading from the China Doll to the parking lot. He suffered serious injuries. Christen's version of the night's events is corroborated to some extent by the testimony of Daniel Wiggins, a customer waiting for a take-out order in the lobby of the China Doll. Wiggins observed two men escorting Christen through the lobby, telling him to leave, when another man approached who appeared ticked off and sported a large bulge in his coat pocket. Next, according to Wiggins, this latter individual left the premises and the other two men proceeded to escort Christen out of the China Doll. Wiggins then heard a shot ring out. Wiggins further testified that there were several employees of the China Doll in the lobby while all this was occurring, including two or three waitresses and a cashier. Rebecca Markham, a cocktail waitress and bartender at the China Doll, testified that she too was aware of a commotion in the lobby. According to her, [i]t looked like it was going to get heavy. She also states that Richard Oden, an armed and uniformed security guard at the China Doll, was aware of this commotion and he remarked that he thought there was going to be a fight. The security guard did not intervene and claims he was unaware of any such confrontation. Three other China Doll employees (Harry Locke, Patty Lee, and Theresa Hendrickson) also testified that they were unaware of a confrontation in the lobby prior to the shooting. Criminal charges were filed against one Rolando Visitacion in connection with the shooting. Visitacion was a regular patron of the China Doll and in attendance at the bar on the night of the shooting. Nothing in the record suggests that Visitacion had ever exhibited any vicious propensities while at the China Doll, including on the night in question, until the confrontation which is asserted to have occurred in the lobby when the bar was closing. Two China Doll employees present on the night in question (Theresa Hendrickson and Patty Lee) suspected Visitacion of sometimes carrying a gun. Diane Thomas, a former employee of the China Doll, also testified that Visitacion carried a gun and that when she used to work there she had a practice of taking his gun and holding it for him in her purse behind the bar. Thomas states that on the night in question she was at the bar as a customer and that Visitacion relinquished his gun to her. She further testified that she returned the gun to him in the parking lot outside of the China Doll near closing time when she thought he was going home. Diane Thomas also testified that she thought Visitacion was intoxicated while at the bar based on the amount of alcohol she saw him consume. Nothing in the record, however, indicates that he actually appeared intoxicated to others around him. Christen brought an action alleging negligence against the individuals doing business as the South China Doll Restaurant, the company under contract to provide security for the restaurant and the security guard on duty the night of the shooting. These latter parties, the petitioners herein, are for convenience hereinafter collectively referred to as the China Doll. The China Doll moved for summary judgment in its favor and the Superior Court granted the motion. The Court of Appeals reversed the Superior Court. We granted the China Doll's petition for review. [1]