Nash

*1109 Opinion

A bar charters an excursion ship for the purpose of having a Halloween party. The ship is owned and operated by a common carrier. During the party a passenger is killed by a bullet fired from a handgun which struck the deck after falling from beneath the costume of another passenger who is a peace officer authorized to carry a concealed weapon while not on duty. The question presented is whether a duty of care was owed by the bar to the passenger. Our answer is no.

Background

Defendant the Fifth Amendment is a bar in Oakland, owned by Myra Gaudet, that sponsored a costume party on Halloween of 1988. Employees of defendant chartered an excursion boat on which the party would be held, advertised the event, and sold tickets.

In addition to employees of defendant and the boat’s crew, approximately 85 to 90 people boarded the vessel when it departed from the Berkeley marina at about 8 p.m. One of the guests was Felton Clark, a correctional sergeant at San Quentin, who was dating Linda Tucker, an employee of defendant. Clark was wearing a Ninja costume. Unbeknownst to anyone but himself, Clark was carrying a semiautomatic handgun beneath his costume. At approximately…