Stone v. State of California

Plaintiffs, James T. Stone, Joyce Stone and James Jeffery Stone by his guardian ad litem James T. Stone, appeal from the summary judgment granted in favor of defendant State of California.

We consider and reject plaintiffs’ contention that liability for injuries occurring to plaintiffs at the Cal Expo fairgrounds may be predicated on the theory of a dangerous condition of property and hold that the State of California is immune from suit under the provisions of the Government Code precluding liability for failure to provide sufficient police protection service.

I

The facts are established by admissions and by documents submitted in support of the state’s motion for summary judgment.

The plaintiffs, together with friends, attended the Cal Expo fairgrounds on September 9, 1975. They agreed to meet at the main gate prior to returning home. Near the gate the plaintiffs were overrun by a gang of youths who were shouting and hitting persons. During the melee Joyce Stone was attacked, her purse was taken and the plaintiffs were beaten and injured.

By amendment to the complaint, the plaintiffs alleged and, by a failure to deny, the defendant admitted, the following: “‘At…

I dissent.

Summary judgment was granted on the ground that defendant was immune under the California Tort Claims Act, Government Code section 845.

Cal Expo can, without distortion of concepts, be described as a “Disneyland” operated by the State of California. There is no serious question but that Disneyland has a duty of reasonable care to prevent assaults on the public by members of the public visiting Disneyland.

If the cause of action here alleged against Cal Expo was realleged against Disneyland, a cause of action would have been stated and the motion for summary judgment would have to have been denied. The *932 private proprietor of a place of public amusement has a duty to maintain order on his premises and may be held liable for injuries resulting from dangerous activities of third persons, whether such acts are accidental, careless, or intentional, if he does nothing to restrain or control such conduct after he knows, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, of it. He must exercise reasonable care to protect patrons from assaults by other patrons if he might reasonably have anticipated such conduct. (4 Am.Jur.2d, Amusements and Exhibitions, §§ 59-60,…

Plaintiffs, James T. Stone, Joyce Stone and James Jeffery Stone by his guardian ad litem James T. Stone, appeal from the summary judgment granted in favor of defendant State of California.

We consider and reject plaintiffs' contention that liability for injuries occurring to plaintiffs at the Cal Expo fairgrounds may be predicated on the theory of a dangerous condition of property and hold that the State of California is immune from suit under the provisions of the Government Code precluding liability for failure to provide sufficient police protection service.

The facts are established by admissions and by documents submitted in support of the state's motion for summary judgment. [1]

The plaintiffs, together with friends, attended the Cal Expo fairgrounds on September 9, 1975. They agreed to meet at the main gate prior to returning home. Near the gate the plaintiffs were overrun by a gang of youths who were shouting and hitting persons. During the melee Joyce Stone was attacked, her purse was taken and the plaintiffs were beaten and injured.

By amendment to the complaint, the plaintiffs alleged and, by a failure to deny, the defendant admitted, the…