Wins

Coffee House v. Superior Court (2012) 2012 Cal.App. Unpub LEXIS 263 (California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Five) [unpublished]. Two unidentified men entered Coffee House, GMSR’s client, and started shooting. They fatally shot a patron named Hung and wounded three others, who sued Coffee House. Two months earlier, a man identified as Viet had entered Coffee House, verbally accosted Hung for “bad-mouthing” him, and displayed a firearm in a threatening manner. Viet was later seen at Coffee House in Hung’s presence, with no apparent difficulties. Plaintiffs’ experts claimed that had the first incident been reported to police there would have been greater law enforcement presence in the area. The trial court denied summary judgment. The Court of Appeal issued an alternative writ and then a peremptory writ of mandate directing judgment for GMSR’s client Coffee House, finding an insufficient showing of causation as a matter of law.