Schneider v. Pinnt, 22808
| Decision Date | 30 November 1970 |
| Docket Number | No. 22808,22808 |
| Parties | Paul SCHNEIDER and Charles E. Vitt d/b/a the Parkway Inn, Plaintiffs in Error, v. Paul PINNT, Defendant in Error. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Zarlengo, Mott & Carlin, E. Eugene Schnabel, Albert E. Zarlengo, Jr., Denver, for plaintiffs in error.
Williams, Taussig & Trine, Joel H. Greenstein, Boulder, for defendant in error.
This case involves the duty of a tavern keeper to protect his patrons from injury while lawfully on the business premises.
Defendant in error, Paul Pinnt, claimed damages from plaintiffs in error, Charles E. Vitt, doing business as The Parkway Inn, and Phil Schneider, an employee of Vitt and manager of the inn. Pinnt's claims arose out of an altercation which occurred on the tavern parking lot. Trial was to a jury which returned a verdict for $1,800 against plaintiffs in error. Although Pinnt asserted other claims for relief, the matters at issue here relate solely to Pinnt's successful claim against Vitt and Schneider based on negligence in failing to reasonably protect Pinnt, a patron of the Parkway Inn, from being assaulted while on the business premises.
Plaintiffs in error contend the trial court committed eleven errors which require reversal. These may properly be placed in two categories: those relating to the sufficiency of the evidence; and those concerning instructions. We find no prejudicial error and therefore affirm the judgment.
The evidence was in dispute as to the details of the altercation which resulted in personal injuries to Pinnt. According to Pinnt's version of the enents, which the jury believed, Pinnt, who was in the used car business, had stopped at the Parkway Inn to locate one of his customers who owed him money. While in the tavern he ordered a glass of beer. As he finished the beer and was about to leave, one Wiley Jones, whom Pinnt had known in the past, walked by Pinnt and made a remark to him. Pinnt followed Jones and Tom Schneider (a brother of Phil Schneider, the manager) out onto the parking lot. There Pinnt stated to Jones: 'I didn't understand what you said.' Jones replied: Jones then struck Pinnt. Tom Schneider joined in the fight and assisted Jones in his attack on Pinnt. The manager, Phil Schneider, upon being advised of the fight, went out to the parking lot where Pinnt asked him for help, which he refused. Although Pinnt requested that Phil Schneider call the police, Schneider did not do so. The fighting continued and a severe beating was administered to Pinnt. He suffered abrasions about the face and head, and was rendered unconscious for a time. Medical evidence showed that the beating resulted in a mild concussion. As a further result of the beating, Pinnt received permanent scars on his face and ear. The police were eventually notified and Pinnt was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Needless to say, Phil...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Observatory Corp. v. Daly
...measures to prevent any such harm from occurring.3 We also considered a tavern proprietor's duty to a patron in Schneider v. Pinnt, 173 Colo. 232, 476 P.2d 1004 (1970), under circumstances which involved a severe beating of the plaintiff-patron by two other patrons in the parking lot of the......
-
Kerby v. Flamingo Club, Inc.
...on the premises extends not only to those inside the tavern but to persons present on the tavern parking lot. See Schneider v. Pinnt, 173 Colo. 232, 476 P.2d 1004. The duty includes the responsibility to intervene in any altercation to protect persons lawfully on the premises once the taver......
-
Ford Motor Co. v. Conrardy
...favor on the issue of liability. The verdict, although based on conflicting evidence, will not be disturbed on review. Schneider v. Pinnt, Colo., 476 P.2d 1004; Rosenthal v. Citizens State Bank, 129 Colo. 35, 266 P.2d The Ford Motor Company argues that if the evidence of liability is held t......
-
Vigil v. Pine
...and the inferences to be drawn from the evidence, are not to be supplanted by the impressions of a reviewing court. Schneider v. Pinnt, Colo., 476 P.2d 1004; Book v. Paddock, 129 Colo. 84, 267 P.2d 247; Schell v. Kullhem, 127 Colo. 555, 259 P.2d The judgment of the Court of Appeals as it pe......