Posted on 07/31/2014 5:51:30 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
College students Denton Ward, 18, from Flower Mound, and Lauren Crisp, 19, of Dripping Springs, were killed shortly after stopping at a College Station McDonald’s in the early morning hours of February 18, 2012.
Ward and another male friend were attacked in the McDonald’s parking lot by a mob of 15 to 20 people.
When Ward’s friends, including Crisp, loaded into a car to rush him to the hospital, the driver ran a red light and they were involved in a crash with a pickup truck. Crisp was killed in the crash.
The teens’ families sued McDonald’s, claiming that the restaurant neglected to provide late-night security even though police had been called more than 20 times that year to break up fights at that location.
(Excerpt) Read more at dfw.cbslocal.com ...
Nope, our legal system has gone insane.
Or the city that operated the signal — taxpayers are the deepest pocket of all.
Maybe.
The argument for liability is probably based on the common “chain of causation” argument.
Same reason a negligent driver can be held liable for the death of a person after an accident — even though it may have resulted form medical malpractice.
Also, unfortunately, $27 million isn’t that big of an award these days.
“The teens’ families sued McDonald’s.... who, although completely uninvolved, have lots of dough.
$27 million might pay off their college loans.
Could you please describe what mechanism you recommend be implemented in order to satisfy this duty?
Please recognize that the solution must be reasonably effective, must shield the business from the liability found, and must be such that any business which would otherwise be similarly liable would be able to implement it.
It's hard for me to picture every shoe-shine stand or coffee kiosk being responsible for the criminal acts of others, but apparently that is your assessment.
Or is it merely the size of the corporation which triggers this duty?
This is yet another frivolous lawsuit. McD is a cheap fast food restaurant. There is no reasonable expectation of safety in their parking lot at night. Parasitic lawyers disgust me as much as their parasitic clients do.
Security Guards. You’ve heard of them, no doubt. Perhaps have seen them.
/sarc
Fact is, any normal business owner operating in a high risk environment is wise to secure his business, employees, customers and etc. As we all know - when seconds count....
As you know - this Mickey D’s had a history of police calls regarding criminal activity. A security guard may not solve all problems, but in hindsight, it would have saved them 27 million.
So, does every business owner, regardless of the size of the business, now require a security guard to satisfy this duty?
Yes. If they want to operate in a dangerous environment.
Let me put it to you this way. You are out late at night in a bad neighborhood. You have every right to be there even though there is a strong chance you will be accosted. You also have a legal right to conceal carry for your protection and indeed your piece is oiled, clean and loaded.
Do you leave it at home knowing that if (when) something bad happens, you can always call the police?
If you would’t do that, if you would provide security for yourself, then why are you denying McDonalds the same opportunity to provide security under the same circumstances?
Just another case where the jury wanted to do something and looked around for the deepest pockets.
I think you have hit on why we disagree. I believe that it is the customer's duty to provide security and not the business. Even if the business disallows guns, the customer's duty to protect himself requires that he either ignore the prohibition or cease doing business where he cannot protect himself.
I don't see the moral or ethical mechanism that transfers the duty from the customer to the vendor.
Neither did McDonalds. And because of that - they lost a $27,000,000.00 lawsuit.
This case misses the point. The true danger of McDonalds is not the character of its premises - it’s the content of the food. It’s sad to see so many corpulent, unhappy Americans flocking to McDonalds so that they can pay to be poisoned.
I guess McD’s franchises will just have to close early and no more late-night munchies for the pothead teens
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