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DEFENDANT BAR NOT LIABLE FOR INJURIES AND DEATH OF PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT RESULTING FROM AN ALTERCATION ON A PUBLIC ROAD IN FRONT OF THE BAR, BAR EXERCISED NO CONTROL OVER THE AREA WHERE THE ALTERCATION OCCURRED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, affirming the defendant bar’s motion for summary judgment in this third party assault case, determined that the owner of the bar was not liable to plaintiff’s decedent who died of injuries from an altercation which occurred on the public road in front of the bar:

Landowners in general have a duty to act in a reasonable manner to prevent harm to those on their property … . In particular, they have a duty to control the conduct of third persons on their premises when they have the opportunity to control such persons and are reasonably aware of the need for such control… . Under this rationale, courts have recognized that a landowner may have responsibility for injuries caused by an intoxicated guest … . However, it is “uniformly acknowledged that liability may be imposed only for injuries that occurred on defendant’s property, or in an area under defendant’s control, where defendant had the opportunity to supervise the intoxicated guest” … . Moreover, a landowner is not an insurer of a visitor’s safety, and has no duty to protect visitors against unforeseeable and unexpected assaults… .

Here, the bar defendants submitted evidence demonstrating that the altercation was a sudden and unforeseeable event, which occurred on a public roadway, outside of their premises and control … . Covelli v Silver Fist, Ltd., 2018 NY Slip Op 08914, Second Dept 12-26-18

 

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