Bill

Petitioners have sought an extraordinary writ to compel the trial court to vacate its order denying their motion for summary judgment, and to enter a contrary order. For reasons we shall explain, we consider this to be one of the exceptional cases in which relief at the pleading stage of a pending action is warranted. (See Babb v. Superior Court (1971) 3 Cal.3d 841, 851 [ 92 Cal.Rptr. 179 , 479 P.2d 379 ]; Stencel Aero Engineering Corp. v. Superior Court (1976) 56 Cal.App.3d 978, 984 [ 128 Cal.Rptr. 691 ]; G. D. Searle & Co. v. Superior Court (1975) 49 Cal.App.3d 22, 24 [ 122 Cal.Rptr. 218 ].)

On March 24, 1979, Jocelyn Vargas attended a movie, “Boulevard Nights,” at the Alhambra Theatre on Polk Street in San Francisco. After leaving the theater, as she and her friends were walking down the street to catch a bus, she was shot by someone who, it is alleged, was a “member of the general public prone to violence . . . who had been attracted to said Alhambra Theatre by the showing of said violent movie . . . .” Through her mother, as guardian, she has sued various defendants, including petitioners, who are alleged to be the producers of the movie. Her mother, alleging damage…