Flood v. Southland Corp.

Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1979, the plaintiff, David Flood, then sixteen years old, was stabbed in the heart by his friend, the defendant John Darcy, then seventeen years old, outside a 7-Eleven store in Wake-field owned and operated by the defendant Southland Corporation (Southland). As a result of his injuries, Flood is legally blind, confined to a wheelchair, permanently and totally disabled and dependent on custodial care for the rest of his life; at the time of trial, his life expectancy was forty-seven years.

1. The incident. On the night of August 30, 1979, Flood and Darcy…