Wallace v. Wilson
| Citation | 575 N.E.2d 1134,411 Mass. 8 |
| Parties | James WALLACE v. Audrey WILSON et al. 1 (and a companion case 2 ). |
| Decision Date | 14 August 1991 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts |
Gerard M. Mahaney, Natick, for John Tessier.
Paul M. Richardson (Paul R. Kelley with him), Cambridge, for defendants.
Thomas G. Waldstein, Framingham, for James Wallace, was present but did not argue.
Before LIACOS, C.J., and WILKINS, ABRAMS, O'CONNOR and GREANEY, JJ.
The plaintiff in each of these cases alleges that he was assaulted and battered by the defendants DeLuca, Tobio, Conlon, and Leofanti outside the home of the defendants Audrey Wilson and Benjamin F. Wilson following a teenagers' party at the Wilsons' home. The claims against DeLuca, Tobio, Conlon, and Leofanti are not at issue in this appeal, nor, for the reason we state below, is the claim against Benjamin F. Wilson. At issue on appeal are the plaintiffs' allegations against Audrey Wilson (Wilson) that their injuries resulted from her failure to supervise the party and particularly to monitor the teenagers' consumption of alcoholic beverages. The gravamen of the complaint against Wilson is that, although there may not be evidence that she supplied the beverages, she knew or had reason to know that the guests, all minors, would and in fact did consume alcohol at the party and that, as a result, they would present a risk of bodily harm to third persons in the position of the plaintiffs. This, the plaintiffs claim, violated a duty of reasonable care Wilson owed them.
The record is unclear, but it appears that the Wilsons either filed a motion for summary judgment in each case and the cases were then consolidated for the purpose of hearing and disposition of the motions, or that only one motion was filed and that that motion was understood by the parties and the motion judge to apply to both cases. At any rate, it is clear that the court was called upon to determine whether the Wilsons were entitled to summary judgment in both cases, and did so. We cannot tell from the record what materials relevant to the summary judgment issue were considered by the judge, but the parties seem to agree that Wilson's written statement to the police and her deposition, as well as the depositions of the plaintiff Tessier and the defendant Conlon, and the plaintiff Wallace's affidavit were made available to the judge. After a hearing, summary judgment was granted to the Wilsons in both cases, and the plaintiffs appealed. We transferred the cases here on our own initiative. We now affirm the judgments below. 3
The relevant facts established for summary judgment purposes by the police statement, affidavit, and depositions are as follows. In setting out the facts, we resolve any conflicts in the summary judgment materials, and we make all logically permissible inferences, in the plaintiffs' favor. Coveney v. President & Trustees of the College of the Holy Cross, 388 Mass. 16, 17, 445 N.E.2d 136 (1983). Wilson reluctantly agreed to allow her seventeen year old daughter to hold the party at her home and chose to remain there as a chaperone because she "wanted to make sure everything was under control, [she] didn't want them to bring any liquor in." Wilson greeted the guests at the door, all of whom appeared to be about her daughter's age. There were three girls from Ashland, where the home was located, and five boys from Belmont. All were teenagers. Wilson did not serve alcoholic beverages to any of the guests and had none on the premises before the party except a bottle of wine that she kept upstairs. The boys were carrying six-packs of beer when they were greeted by Wilson and they made no effort to conceal them.
The party began about 8 P.M., and took place mainly in the den on the lower level of the split level house. One can leave the house from the lower level by going through the garage. Occasionally, the guests went in and out of the house through the garage without entering the upper part of the house where Wilson remained throughout most of the evening. She went downstairs twice. Everyone at the party was drinking beer, and liquor, too, and no effort was made to hide it.
Around 11 P.M., one of the girls, Corin Acherson, went upstairs to telephone her boy friend. Wilson overheard Acherson's end of the telephone conversation, and she overheard a subsequent conversation between Acherson and Wilson's daughter. Wilson learned that Acherson was upset by one of the boys having pinched or touched her, and she learned that Acherson's boy friend had said that he was going to come to the house and beat up the boy.
Some of the boys came upstairs and one of them spoke to Acherson's boy friend on the telephone. Then the boys went downstairs and informed the others. It was then about 11:30 P.M. and Wilson told her daughter to end the party and send her guests home. Coincidentally, the plaintiffs and two other boys arrived, uninvited, at the Wilson home to see if they could join the party. They knew nothing about the Acherson incident or about her conversation with her boy friend. The plaintiff Tessier and another boy stayed in their automobile while the plaintiff Wallace and the fourth boy knocked on Wilson's door. Wilson had her daughter telephone...
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