Alvarez

This is a wrongful death case, tried to a jury. It reaches us after defendants’ motion for nonsuit was granted at the close of plaintiffs’ case-in-chief. The motion was granted on the sole ground that, as a matter of law, decedent’s death was unforeseeable and, hence, defendants owed no duty to the decedent. The majority’s affirmance is based on that ground, and one other: that, as a matter of law, there was no causal nexus between the defendants’ acts (and failure to act) and the death.

As I shall explain, I believe the trial court and the majority err in their rationale and conclusion, and that plaintiffs were entitled to reach a jury. I respectfully dissent from my colleagues’ decision that they were not.

1. Standard for Nonsuit

It is fundamental that this case reaches us from the grant of a nonsuit motion. “A nonsuit in a jury case or a directed verdict may be granted only when disregarding conflicting evidence, giving to the plaintiffs’ evidence all the value to which it is legally entitled, and indulging every legitimate inference which may be drawn from the evidence in plaintiffs’ favor, it can be said that there is no evidence to support a jury verdict in their favor.”…

CHARLES S. VOGEL, P.J.

This case involves a commercial enterprise's liability for a murder committed at its restaurant. After the plaintiffs had completed their case-in-chief, the trial court granted nonsuit. In essence, it found no duty because the murder was unforeseeable. We agree and therefore affirm the judgment.

The events occurred during the late evening of May 11, 1996, at Shakey's Pizza Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. [1] Carlos Alvarez went with a group of friends to eat at the restaurant. Alvarez's companions included three adult men, three adult women, and two young children.

After the group ordered their food, the men took the children to the restaurant's game room. The three women remained at their table. At a nearby table, a group of three men with a video camera were seated: Mauricio Ajanel, Victor Ajanel, and Edwin Estrada (the Ajanel group). The three men were intoxicated. They made obscene remarks to the women and aimed the video camera at the women in an offensive manner. Osvaldo Baldolomar, a restaurant employee, observed the videotaping. However, the women did not complain to the restaurant's employees; instead they told Alvarez and their…

Introduction

This case involves a commercial enterprise’s liability for a murder committed at its restaurant. After the plaintiffs had completed their case-in-chief, the trial court granted nonsuit. In essence, it found no duty because the murder was unforeseeable. We agree and therefore affirm the judgment.

*1194 Statement of Facts

The Operative Facts

The events occurred during the late evening of May 11, 1996, at Shakey’s Pizza Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. 1 Carlos Alvarez went with a group of friends to eat at the restaurant. Alvarez’s companions included three adult men, three adult women, and two young children.

After the group ordered their food, the men took the children to the restaurant’s game room. The three women remained at their table. At a nearby table, a group of three men with a video camera were seated: Mauricio Ajanel, Victor Ajanel, and Edwin Estrada (the Ajanel group). The three men were intoxicated. They made obscene remarks to the women and aimed the video camera at the women in an offensive manner. Osvaldo Baldolomar, a restaurant employee, observed the videotaping. However, the women did not complain to the restaurant’s…