Courtroom Success 2015-2: Boston Partner Joseph Flanagan and Boston Associate Amy B. Parker

Courtroom Success 2015-2: Boston Partner Joseph Flanagan and Boston Associate Amy B. Parker obtained summary judgment on behalf of a restaurant owner in Suffolk Superior Court in a high exposure premises liability case in which a patron was struck and catastrophically injured by a hit and run motorist when crossing a busy street in front of the restaurant. The restaurant allegedly violated the state plumbing code by not making a functioning restroom available to the patron, and an employee allegedly violated the restaurant’s policies by instructing the patron to use a restroom at another business across the street. The court ruled that the restaurant owner did not owe a duty to the patron to provide safe passage across a public street, and that neither the regulation nor the restaurant’s policies created a duty of care.