CALCON REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST:
A Limited Liability Company:
Cal-Con owns a commercial property with a small building on Santa Fe Avenue in Los Angeles, which it leases to a bar operator. The business is known as the Orpheum Lounge. Recently a murder may have been committed on the property. Cal-Con has been sued by the family of a man who was found dead from gunshot wounds in the parking area behind the bar. They allege that, as the owner, Cal-Con should have provided security. The following is an outline of what we know so far.
The Property is about one-third of an acre. The Building fronts Santa Fe Avenue at a corner. Lights are attached to the Building, but there are no lights in the back of the Property. A 24-hour tow truck company is behind the Property and its yard lights partially illuminate the rear parking area. Except for the bar at the front, the Property is vacant land. Because of its corner location, neighbors tend to drive through the Property to get to the other street. We have had a few minor incidents during the last few years, but nothing this serious.
In their complaint the heirs allege that the victim was shot in the parking area on July 5, 2011 at about 1:15 a.m. He was found next to his car in the rear of our Property. We have no additional information on how, why or where he was shot. The police have no information on a possible suspect.
The bar owner was home when the incident occurred. Sylvia, a bartender, was the only employee of the bar at the Property. She decided to close early because most customers had left for the night – there were only three people in the bar. At 1:00 a.m. she began the closing procedure, which included locking doors and setting a building alarm. Sylvia’s car was parked along the side of the Building. When she got into the car around 1:15 a.m., Sylvia heard several gun shots. She started driving away and, as her car entered the street, Sylvia saw a man running north along Santa Fe Avenue.
Sylvia knew the victim. He had been a customer in the past, but he was not in the bar that night. She had not seen the victim for several weeks. He used to occasionally visit the bar, but was not friendly or likable. He was generally ostracized by other customers, apparently because he tried to sell narcotics. As a result, the owner told him not to visit the bar.
The complaint is for wrongful death on the idea that the Property should have been lighted better or we should have had a security guard. Cal-Con and the bar owner are named as defendants. The bar owner says he does not have insurance, but we need to check. He may not be telling the truth.
Please advise whether we may be liable and what we should do. I would like to have your opinion on: (1) our liability to the family, (2) what we should do about the problem, and (3) how to address complaints from neighbors. Do you think we need to address this issue for the future? What is this happens again? I received a call from the mayor’s office because neighbors have now complained about the bar. If this becomes a problem, the tenant’s liquor license may be revoked.