Denny's shooting lawsuit results in $46 million verdict

[TxD]

There's a lot to think about here.

"....... a rowdy group that included Frank Evans - identified in court documents as a gang-wannabe - had been ejected from another Kent restaurant where they had been drinking. They opted to go to Denny's.

"The fact that Evans had been able to wreak the havoc he did at Denny's was the core of Perey's argument: that Denny's as a company was not doing enough to assure the safety of its customers and employees."

"...... the jury sent a message loud and clear to Denny's that they need to do something to protect their customers during the bar rush (when the shooting took place)."

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ ... 29629.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Thomas]

This is extremely disappointing.

"Their failure was a managerial failure in providing protection to customers at the Kent Denny's, when they knew there was violence going on almost every weekend," Perey said in an interview after Monday's verdict.

Perey's brief outlined the reason for spotlighting the parent company in the local crime: "If off-duty Kent Police officers, or private security were hired; or if the restaurant was closed during the bar rush; or even a strong, well-trained manager/authority figure manager was on duty, Evans would never have been allowed into the restaurant-seating areas, would have been deterred from returning to the restaurant with a gun, and from shooting the gun."

If I get shot in the street, can I sue the city for not hiring more police to stand at every corner to prevent crime? Can I sue restaurants for wanting to do business when it's profitable? Can I sue restaurants for not hiring me as a manager because I'm frail?

Heck, can I sue any store for not profiling its potential customers to see if they are potentially violent?!?!

This sets an extremely bad precedent, I am greatly disappointed in whatever fury/judge decided this.

[jmra]

Verdict will never stand up in appeal. Just another example of an uneducated/bias jury.

[sugar land dave]

This sets an extremely bad precedent, I am greatly disappointed in whatever fury/judge decided this.

I have lived in Kent, Auburn, and the surrounding suburbs of Seattle. You have to understand it is a totally different world up there The people are surrounded by great natural beauty and unrealistically feel rather safe. They also are ultra-liberal as opposed to Texas being ultra conservative. It might as well be another planet; Seattle and Texas are THAT different!

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ ... 29629.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TxD]

Verdict will never stand up in appeal. Just another example of an uneducated/bias jury.

This is from the article:

"There reportedly won't be an appeal from Denny's - part of the agreement reached, Perey said, was Denny's would pay a lesser amount (the suit originally had sought $79.5 million) to ensure the case would not be bogged down in appeals, while Tolenoa lived on in lesser circumstances."

[Charles L. Cotton]

"Their failure was a managerial failure in providing protection to customers at the Kent Denny's, when they knew there was violence going on almost every weekend," Perey said in an interview after Monday's verdict.

It's hard to tell from the article, but if the above-quoted statement was proven in court, then Texas law would support the same outcome. As a general rule, a business is not responsible for the illegal acts of an unrelated third party. An exception to this general rule applies when a business owner knows that dangerous criminal conduct is occurring on their property and they do not take reasonable steps to protect customers.

If the evidence proved this Denny's was the scene of violence "almost every weekend" then that's why they would lose in Texas.

Chas.

[JJVP]

"That's when he left the restaurant and returned
minutes later with a Glock .40 semiautomatic handgun, which he used to spray 11 bullets inside the restaurant."

See, if only had a 10 bullet "clip" this tragedy could have averted.

Darn those high capacity magazines, oops, I mean clips, not to mention those darn Glocks.

[doc540]

Maybe I missed it, but does Denny's post 30.06 signs per corporate policy?

[DoubleJ]

Maybe I missed it, but does Denny's post 30.06 signs per corporate policy?

wouldn't have mattered in Kent, Washington.

Oddly enough, I have a pretty fair idea of where this store is, and I'd be reluctant to venture there after "beer:30."

agree with the above sentiment that it is a whole 'nuther country up here, but there ARE many, many 2A minded folks, and ranges, and things of that nature.
It's just the nanny state mentality gets all the press. I've heard the phrase "San Francisco of the north," and I would agree with that assessment.

[Katygunnut]

Wow.

In the late 90's / early 2000's, I lived in some apartments that are right behind this restaurant. That was alot safer than several other places I lived in a 5 mile radius from this place. For some reason, I never felt unsafe there. It really didn't seem like that dangerous of a place to me.

[Pawpaw]

"That's when he left the restaurant and returned
minutes later with a Glock .40 semiautomatic handgun, which he used to spray 11 bullets inside the restaurant."

See, if only had a 10 bullet "clip" this tragedy could have averted.

Darn those high capacity magazines, oops, I mean clips, not to mention those darn Glocks.

Psst! 10 + 1 = 11

[jmra]

Verdict will never stand up in appeal. Just another example of an uneducated/bias jury.

This is from the article:

"There reportedly won't be an appeal from Denny's - part of the agreement reached, Perey said, was Denny's would pay a lesser amount (the suit originally had sought $79.5 million) to ensure the case would not be bogged down in appeals, while Tolenoa lived on in lesser circumstances."

Well, I guess the price of a grand slam breakfast just went up.

[TxD]

Latest from the Seatle Times.

"A man who was left paralyzed after a shooting at a Denny's in Kent in 2007 will receive $13 million from the restaurant chain despite being awarded more than $46 million by a King County jury on Monday.

Before the jury reached its decision, lawyers for Denny's and the three victims reached an agreement that no matter what sum jurors recommended, plaintiff Steve Tolenoa would receive a minimum of $5 million and a maximum of $13 million from the insurers from the restaurant chain, according to his attorney, Ron Perey."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ys09m.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sugar land dave]

Wow.

In the late 90's / early 2000's, I lived in some apartments that are right behind this restaurant. That was alot safer than several other places I lived in a 5 mile radius from this place. For some reason, I never felt unsafe there. It really didn't seem like that dangerous of a place to me.

Hence my above comment:

"The people are surrounded by great natural beauty and unrealistically feel rather safe."

[OldCannon]

Maybe I missed it, but does Denny's post 30.06 signs per corporate policy?

wouldn't have mattered in Kent, Washington.

Oddly enough, I have a pretty fair idea of where this store is, and I'd be reluctant to venture there after "beer:30."

agree with the above sentiment that it is a whole 'nuther country up here, but there ARE many, many 2A minded folks, and ranges, and things of that nature.
It's just the nanny state mentality gets all the press. I've heard the phrase "San Francisco of the north," and I would agree with that assessment.

Having lived there for six years before returning to the warm embrace of The Republic, I would say the Seattle area is akin to the rest of Washington as Austin is akin to the rest of Texas. However, we are blessed with the fact that tie-dye and sandals community in Austin leverage FAR less political power than those in Seattle. On the other hand, I'd say there's a rather large community of 2A people in Seattle and the surrounding areas that keep things sane.

And let's not forget that we have outstanding youngsters like Caleb Giddings and Kyle Bachand who live in that area as well. So long as our younger generation has some outstanding role models such as they, I think Seattle is in safer hands than in the past.