Attorneys Robert Powers and Kathleen Federico recently secured a defense verdict in Suffolk Superior Court in a case involving liquor liability and negligent security claims. The plaintiff, a patron in a Boston nightclub, was assaulted and battered by another patron after intervening in a dispute, and he suffered serious injury. He brought a lawsuit against the nightclub claiming that his injuries were the result of over-service of alcohol, and that the club had not taken adequate precautions for patron safety. Plaintiff’s settlement demand was declined as excessive, and he declined defendant’s settlement overtures.
The case was tried to a jury over four days in July. Melick & Porter successfully argued that the nightclub maintained adequate security, and that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that alternative security arrangements might have prevented the assault. The jury accepted these arguments, and that the plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that the nightclub knew, or should have known, that the other patron was intoxicated and presented a danger to others. The jury determined that the nightclub had not been negligent, and rendered a defense verdict.
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