Early v. N.L.V. Casino Corp., 14463
| Decision Date | 30 March 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 14463,14463 |
| Citation | 100 Nev. 200,678 P.2d 683 |
| Parties | Beverly W. EARLY and Frank C. Early, Appellants, v. N.L.V. CASINO CORPORATION, d/b/a Silver Nugget Casino, Respondent. |
| Court | Nevada Supreme Court |
After presentation of appellants' negligence case before a jury, respondent N.L.V. Casino Corporation, d/b/a Silver Nugget Casino, made a motion for dismissal under NRCP 41(b). The district court granted respondent's motion and issued an order and judgment of dismissal. Appellants then filed a motion for a new trial, which was dismissed. Appellants now appeal the 41(b) dismissal and the denial of a new trial. For reasons set forth hereinafter, the judgment of dismissal is reversed and the case is remanded for a new trial.
Appellants Beverly W. and Frank C. Early, along with their daughter, went to the Silver Nugget Casino for lunch. Before entering the restaurant, Mrs. Early excused herself to go to the restroom. While alone in the restroom, Mrs. Early was robbed and severely beaten by a male assailant. Mr. Early and his daughter heard a scream and ran to the restroom area. The daughter followed further screams and found her mother getting up off the floor. Her mother's face "looked like it had been ripped completely open." Her clothing was also torn. After several requests by Mrs. Early, her daughter and a bystander, an ambulance was called. When it arrived, Mrs. Early was taken to the hospital. As a result of the beating, Mrs. Early suffered psychological trauma in addition to her physical injuries.
Three of the Silver Nugget's security guards, including the chief of security, testified concerning security measures in effect at the Silver Nugget. According to the testimony, there were no formal training sessions for security guards, no written materials on security or security manuals, and few, if any, formal staff meetings. At least on occasion there were no guards patrolling outside the Silver Nugget at night for up to four hours at a time. Guards also had neither an elevated security desk in a prominent position within the casino nor access to the closed circuit television monitors.
The chief of security felt that the guards at the Silver Nugget were glorified porters, because they "never really did a lot of security work." Instead, they carried money boxes to and from the counting room, read bingo machine numbers and oversaw the changing of tape in Keno machines. The chief of security was also aware of monthly security chiefs' meetings in town, but was unable to attend because there were not enough guards to cover the casino if he left. The security guards' logbook lists ninety-two crimes known to have been committed on the premises of the Silver Nugget during the two years preceding Mrs. Early's beating. None of those prior crimes, however, had been committed in a restroom.
Expert witnesses testified that almost every other casino in town had training programs for guards and elevated security desks. One witness also testified that during the two or three years prior to the incident in question, restroom crimes and remedies had been discussed at almost every monthly meeting of the local security chiefs.
NRCP 41(b) provides that an action may be dismissed at the close of plaintiff's case "on the ground that upon the facts and the law the plaintiff has failed to prove a sufficient case for the ... jury." It is well-settled that a motion for involuntary dismissal pursuant to NRCP 41(b) "admits the truth of plaintiff's evidence and all inferences that reasonably can be drawn therefrom, and the evidence must be interpreted in the light most favorable to plaintiff." Bell v. Machado, 98 Nev. 152, 153, 643 [100 Nev. 203] P.2d 1208, 1209 (1982). In other words, if the evidence presented in the instant case provides a reasonable inference of actionable negligence, involuntary dismissal is inappropriate.
Appellants, therefore, "bore the burden of introducing sufficient evidence in [their] case-in-chief to establish a prima facie case." Hernandez v. City of Reno, 97 Nev. 429, 433, 634 P.2d 668, 671 (1981). The first element of appellants' negligence case concerns whether the Silver Nugget owed any duty to Mrs. Early. Both parties agree that the duty owed to an invitee such as a casino patron is to use reasonable and ordinary care in keeping the premises safe for the benefit of patrons. "[A] proprietor owes his invited guests a duty to keep the premises in a reasonably safe condition for...
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