Harrington v. Crystal Bar, Inc.
Annotate this CasePlaintiff was a patron at the Crystal Bar when she was hit on the head by Jason Howard, a friend of the bouncer, causing him to fall and strike his head. Plaintiff filed a complaint against the Crystal Bar, alleging, among other claims, negligence and liquor shop liability, or a "dram shop" claim. The district court entered summary judgment for the Crystal Bar on Plaintiff's negligence and dram shop claim, holding (1) there was no interaction between Plaintiff and Howard that should have alerted Crystal Bar employees that Howard posed any danger to plaintiff, and (2) it was uncontested that Howard was not intoxicated and had not been served at the Crystal Bar. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the Crystal Bar on Plaintiff's dram shop claim, as there was no evidence Howard was served alcohol by the Crystal Bar prior to the altercation; but (2) reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment on Plaintiff's negligence claims, as genuine issues of material fact existed as to whether the Crystal Bar had knowledge of the conflict between Plaintiff and Howard and whether Crystal Bar satisfied its duty of reasonable care under the circumstances. Remanded.
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