Osborne v. Stages Music Hall, Inc.

The question in this case is whether Stages Music Hall, Inc. (Stages), the owner of a nightclub on Clark Street in Chicago, owed a duty to protect its customer from a third-party criminal attack that took place just outside its entrance doors.

After hearing the plaintiff Lindie Osborne’s (Osborne’s) evidence, the trial court directed a verdict in favor of Stages. We reverse the trial court and remand for a new trial.

FACTS

At about 10:45 p.m. on October 19, 1993, Osborne and her friend, Michelle Becht, accompanied by Becht’s boyfriend, Paul, and Paul’s friend, Mike, arrived at a nightclub/bar on…