The Massachusetts Supreme Court sided with a nightclub leasing space in a wrongful death action after a mother, whose son was shot and killed outside of the club, claimed that granting summary judgment in favor of the nightclub was inappropriate because there was still a dispute over whether it knew or should have known about prior acts of violence at the club, which would have created a duty to protect her son from the risk of violence on the property.
Justice Serges Georges Jr. for the Massachusetts Supreme Court authored the August 16 opinion, which affirmed the granting of summary judgment to UTP Realty, the owner of the nightclub property, finding that “the execution-style shooting of the decedent was not reasonably foreseeable to UTP in its capacity as property owner and landlord, and there was thus no duty on the part of UTP to protect the decedent against this criminal act by a third party.”
