Sourakli v. Kyriakos, Inc.

144 Wash. App. 501
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided February 25, 2008·No. Nos. 57997-5-I; 58053-1-I; 58918-1-I·Published·Cited by 35 cases

Opinion

Becker, J.

¶1 Mahmoud Sourakli, an innocent passerby, was shot and gravely injured when a bullet hit him in [504]*504the back as he was walking late at night near a popular Seattle nightclub where gang members had gathered. Sourakli seeks to impose liability for his injury upon the businesses that induced the gangs to congregate near the nightclub without providing adequate security services to prevent violence. Ordinarily, third parties do not have tort liability for the criminal acts of others. The conduct of the business defendants who remain in this case does not bring them within the exceptions to the general rule.

¶2 At the center of this dispute is Mr. Lucky, a nightclub located directly across the street from Key Arena in Seattle. Because the club draws a rough crowd, including gang members, Mr. Lucky hired Titan Security in the fall of2003.

¶3 On the night of Friday, December 12th, 2003, Mr. Lucky was hosting a special event. Mr. Lucky had hired Prolific Records to promote the event and fill the club with patrons. As part of the promotion, the radio station KUBE 93 FM was broadcasting live from the club into the early morning hours, extending a general invitation to come to the club. Approximately seven Titan security guards were present. The unarmed security team was in charge of patting down people entering the club for weapons, enforcing the club’s dress code, and preventing or breaking up disturbances within the club.

¶4 The guards were turning away would-be patrons in part because Mr. Lucky had reached capacity and also because Prolific Records had instructed them to turn away gang members known to have been involved in recent assaults at other bars. As a result, people were lining up along the sidewalk and congregating in a Diamond Parking lot adjacent to the club to the north. The parking lot was self-service; there was no attendant on duty. On the southwest corner of the lot, right next to Mr. Lucky, a hot dog stand was operating under a lease from Diamond. The hot dog stand stayed open on weekend nights after Mr. Lucky closed, sometimes as late as 2:45 a.m., with people loitering about.

[505]*505¶5 Mahmoud Sourakli and a group of friends were walking south toward the club down First Avenue North when shooting started shortly after 2 a.m. Sourakli had not been a patron of Mr. Lucky that evening. Sourakli saw a large group of people congregated in the Diamond parking lot. He heard “loud, multiple rapid shots.”1 A bullet hit Sourakli in the back of the neck, and he fell to the ground.

¶6 Sourakli’s girl friend immediately called 911 for help. A woman living in the neighborhood also called 911 to report that she heard approximately 15 shots fired “from the area of the Diamond lot.”2

¶7 Police arrived on the scene at 2:16 a.m. The crowd in the parking lot had scattered by the time the police arrived. Two hot dog vendors who were present said they dove behind their carts and did not see who was shooting.

¶8 Detective Greg Tomlinson responded to the scene at 2:20 a.m. and began an investigation. He identified several gang members who had knowledge about the shooting. One man admitted to being in one of the cars from which shots were fired. He said that two rival gangs had been arguing over drug-dealing turf and that this had erupted into a gunfight as the gangs left in their cars. Based on his investigation, Detective Tomlinson concluded that “several shots had been fired from at least two vehicles as they left the Diamond parking lot on the north side of Mr. Lucky’s.”3 There were no shots reported as being fired in any other area at that time. From this evidence and the location of shell casings, Detective Tomlinson inferred that the bullet removed from Sourakli’s back had been fired by someone in one of the vehicles leaving the Diamond parking lot. He concluded that a bullet fired from this particular type of gun could easily travel the distance to where Sourakli was walking along First Avenue North.

[506]*506¶9 Police were not able to identify the person who fired the shot, and they did not find the gun. Due to insufficiency of the evidence to prove a charge against a particular defendant, the criminal case is currently inactive.

¶10 Detective Tomlinson stated in his declaration that he had previously responded to complaints of trouble at Mr. Lucky and was aware of large groups of people loitering in the Diamond parking lot. Police would walk through the lots to break up fights. They were particularly concerned about the safety of the parking lots because in view of the pat-down policy at Mr. Lucky, people would leave guns in their cars.

¶11 Sourakli is a quadriplegic as a result of the injuries caused by the shooting. He filed this lawsuit on February 3, 2006. The defendants named in Sourakli’s civil complaint included Mr. Lucky, Diamond Parking, Titan Security, Clear Channel Broadcasting (KUBE 93 FM), and Prolific Records. The complaint alleged that the defendants created a dangerous situation by attracting armed gangs without providing sufficient security services.

¶12 All five defendants moved for summary judgment on the grounds that they did not have a duty to protect Sourakli from the criminal acts of a third party and that proximate cause was lacking. Sourakli responded that the businesses should bear the responsibility for the absence of adequate security because they created and profited from the activities at Mr. Lucky. Sourakli showed that the club had a history of violence and had refused to “beef up” security despite having notice that dangerous crowds were attracted by promotional events.

¶13 The court granted motions to dismiss made by Clear Channel, Prolific Records, and Diamond Parking. The court denied motions for summary judgment made by Titan Security and Mr. Lucky. The court reasoned that Mr. Lucky, the possessor of land, had a duty based on the club creating a special temptation or opportunity for crime, and “under the limited and specific circumstances of this case” the [507]*507criminal activity was reasonably foreseeable.4 The court found that the same premises liability extended to Titan Security for acting on behalf of Mr. Lucky.

¶14 Sourakli settled with Mr. Lucky, leaving Titan Security as the only remaining defendant. Titan successfully petitioned this court for discretionary review of the order denying its motion for summary judgment. This court then agreed to treat as final the dismissal orders granted to Diamond Parking and Prolific Records. Sourakli has appealed from the orders dismissing these two defendants, and his appeal has been consolidated with our discretionary review of the order denying summary judgment to Titan.

¶15 “The standard of review of an order of summary judgment is de novo, and the appellate court performs the same inquiry as the trial court.” Jones v. Allstate Ins. Co., 146 Wn.2d 291, 300, 45 P.3d 1068 (2002). “Summary judgment is appropriate only if the pleadings, affidavits, depositions, and admissions on file demonstrate the absence of any genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Sheehan v. Cent. Puget Sound Reg’l Transit Auth.,

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Sourakli v. Kyriakos, Inc., 144 Wash. App. 501 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

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