Cassanello v. Luddy

The opinion of the court was delivered by

HUMPHREYS, J.A.D.

Plaintiff was a patron of the defendant Hot Shots tavern (“tavern”) in North Bergen, New Jersey. One evening he was attacked by two other patrons after he had left the tavern. His skull was fractured with an axe hammer. Plaintiff’s suit against the tavern and the tavern’s security person was dismissed on defendants’ motion at the end of plaintiffs case. The judge held that the attack was not reasonably foreseeable and therefore that the tavern did not owe the plaintiff a duty of care. We reverse.

I

A motion for dismissal at the close of…