Yangas v. Charlie Club, Inc.

• Decision Date: 16 March 1983
• Docket Number: No. 82-444,82-444
• Parties: , 69 Ill.Dec. 267 Walter G. YANGAS, Nancy A. Yangas and Nicholas Yangas, by his mother and next friend, Nancy A. Yangas, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CHARLIE CLUB, INC., an Illinois Corporation, Richard J. Palmer, Andrew Wrobel and Sophie Wrobel d/b/a Andy & Sophie's, Frank Lewandowski, Joe M. Pesack d/b/a MR. P's, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

Page 484

447 N.E.2d 484

113 Ill.App.3d 398, 69 Ill.Dec. 267

Walter G. YANGAS, Nancy A. Yangas and Nicholas Yangas, by his mother and next friend, Nancy A. Yangas Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CHARLIE CLUB, INC., an Illinois Corporation, Richard J Palmer, Andrew Wrobel and Sophie Wrobel d/b/a Andy & Sophie's, Frank Lewandowski, Joe M Pesack d/b/a MR. P's Defendants-Appellees.

No. 82-444.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District.

March 16, 1983.

Douglas L. Ziech and Roger D. Rickmon, Murphy, Timm, Lennon, Spesia & Ayers, Joliet, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Sandra Young, Edward C. Purcell and Paul Kaulas, Purcell & Wardrope, Chtd., Chicago, for defendants-appellees.

ALLOY, Justice:

Plaintiffs Walter G. Yangas, Nancy A. Yangas and Nicholas Yangas appeal from the entry of a directed verdict in defendant Charlie Club, Inc.'s favor, in their negligence action against Charlie Club. Plaintiff Walter Yangas, an invitee of the Charlie Club, had been injured in Charlie Club's parking lot area as a result of action by defendant Richard Palmer, a person who had been refused admittance into the club. Palmer was sued for negligence and willful and wanton misconduct in his operation of his auto in the parking lot. The basis of the action against Charlie Club was for its asserted failure to control Palmer, who was allegedly intoxicated and disorderly; for its failure to notify the police of Palmer; for its failure to adequately protect Yangas from Palmer; and for its failure to provide security personnel or other supervision in its parking lot. The case was tried before a jury, but the court directed a verdict for Charlie Club at the close of all the evidence, finding the evidence insufficient to give rise to any of the duties alleged by plaintiffs to have been violated by Charlie Club. A verdict against Palmer, for $1,200,000 compensatory and $500,000 punitive, was entered, but is not before us on this appeal. In the instant appeal, plaintiffs Yangas argue that the court erred in directing a verdict for Charlie Club. At the center of the issues on appeal is the question of the duties owed by Charlie Club to Yangas. The question focuses upon the reasonable foreseeability of defendant Palmer's actions and Yangas' resultant injuries, on the facts known to Charlie Club.

In reviewing the record, we note that directed verdicts are not to be granted unless all of the evidence, viewed in its aspect most favorable to the plaintiff, so overwhelmingly favors the defendant that no contrary verdict based on the evidence could ever stand. (Pedrick v. Peoria & Eastern Railroad Co. (1967), 37 Ill.2d 494, 229 N.E.2d 504.) With this in mind, we turn to the pertinent facts. On the evening of November 21, 1979, two men, defendant Richard Palmer and his companion Edward Weiss, entered the premises of the Charlie Club. The Charlie Club is a full concept health club, included in which is a health club, restaurant and bar. Palmer and Weiss had arrived at the club, parked their auto in the club parking lot, and proceeded to the complex. They entered the outside door and then sought entrance into the lounge and bar area. At the doorway of the lounge and bar area were two club employees whose job it was to check identification of persons seeking admittance to the bar. The two employees on duty the night of November 21, 1979, were Victor Sebastiano and William Denewillis. Sebastiano and Denewillis denied Palmer and Weiss admittance into the bar. At trial, Denewillis testified that the reasons for not allowing them in were that they appeared intoxicated and Weiss had no identification. Palmer, when asked, had produced identification, but Weiss was unable to do so.

Denewillis testified that both men had definitely been drinking, and he noted Palmer's glassy and bloodshot eyes, and his slightly slurred speech. He testified that Palmer had a normal walk, with nothing unusual in it, and did not stumble when walking. It was Denewillis' opinion on the night in question that Palmer was intoxicated "to an extent." Weiss, too, according to Denewillis had been drinking, as evidenced by glassy and bloodshot eyes and his obnoxious behavior. Sebastiano testified that both men had been drinking, as evident from their eyes. He did not recall either one having any slurred speech or any difficulty walking. Sebastiano stated that he could not tell if the men were intoxicated. After Palmer and Weiss were denied admittance, an argument ensued with the club employees Sebastiano and Denewillis. Sebastiano stated that both men gave the "usual amount of back talk" as they were leaving. Although he did not clearly remember who did what talking, when pressed, Sebastiano indicated that it was Weiss who was the louder and more obnoxious of the two. He testified that Palmer was not really loud, and did not appear to care either way. He could remember nothing unusual about their leaving. Denewillis, the other club bouncer, stated that it was Weiss, not Palmer, who was rude, loud and obnoxious. Palmer, according to Denewillis, was not a problem at all, and created no scene or confrontation. Nor, as noted previously, did he notice anything unusual about his walk or about him as he left the premises. Denewillis admitted his belief, on the night in question, that Palmer and Weiss had driven to the Charlie Club, and he stated that he felt that anyone who has had too much to drink is a danger when driving.

Neither Sebastiano, Denewillis, nor any other Charlie Club employee took any action respecting Palmer and Weiss as they left, or immediately thereafter. No call to the police was made concerning them, nor did anyone follow the pair to the parking lot nearby. It is also conceded that there was no club supervision of the parking lot, and no security personnel there. The evidence indicated that Palmer and Weiss left the clubhouse and proceeded to the parking lot and Palmer's vehicle. As they were leaving the parking lot, there was a near collision with a vehicle in which plaintiff Walter Yangas was a passenger. Weiss, a passenger in the Palmer auto, got out of the auto and began yelling at Yangas and the driver of that other auto. Yangas then got out of the auto, whereupon Weiss got back into the Palmer auto, which then proceeded toward Yangas' side of the other vehicle. Yangas attempted to get back into the auto, but before he was fully in, and with his right leg still outside the car, his auto was struck by the Palmer auto, on the passenger side, pinning Yangas' leg. The Palmer vehicle, according to testimony, was going 25 to 30 miles per hour at impact. Yangas, as a result of the accident-attack, suffered serious and permanent injuries to his leg, which eventually resulted in the loss of the leg below the knee.

Yangas, his wife and child brought suit against Palmer, the driver of the auto, for negligence and willful and wanton misconduct, and against the taverns which had served Palmer alcohol, under dramshop statutory provisions. They also brought the instant action against the Charlie Club alleging negligence in the club's failures: (1) to protect Yangas from Palmer; (2) to notify the police of Palmer; (3) to supervise the parking lot area; and (4) to provide security personnel in the parking lot area. At the close of all the evidence, the trial court entered its directed verdict in favor of defendant Charlie Club, finding insufficient facts to put Charlie Club on notice of the reasonable foreseeability of Palmer's subsequent conduct in the operation of his auto.

There is no dispute that Yangas was an invitee of the Charlie Club at the time of the incident. It is also not disputed by the parties that Charlie Club's duty, as a tavernkeeper to its invitees, was to take reasonable affirmative action to protect against misconduct of third-parties, when the danger is apparent or the...