Judge Refuses to Slash Verdict in Guns N' Roses Suit
Riotous crowd's appetite for destruction resulted in plaintiff's ankle injury
Asher Hawkins
The Legal Intelligencer
03-17-2006
A Philadelphia judge has declined to remit the six-figure verdict a jury awarded to a woman who claimed a December 2002 ankle injury outside the then-First Union Center was caused by arena management's failure to foresee and prevent the riotous behavior sure to sweep the crowd once the cancellation of a Guns N' Roses concert was announced.
Michelle Heenan was, at the time of the accident, a single 39-year-old Northeast Philadelphia resident who worked as an administrative assistant at a local hospital.
Heenan asserted that defendants Comcast Spectator and Spectrum Arena Limited Partnership should have recognized the crowd would become unruly when the rock band's Philadelphia show was canceled, as roughly a month earlier, Guns N' Roses fans in Vancouver, British Columbia, had rioted when the band called off its show in that city.
Heenan had also filed suit against the band and various tour and concert promotion companies, but those defendants were either dismissed or granted nonsuits.
In the spring of 2005, the jury in Heenan v. Comcast Spectator found against Comcast Spectator and Spectrum Arena Limited and awarded Heenan $140,000.
In an opinion filed last week, Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Eugene E.J. Maier urged the Superior Court to affirm his denial of the defense's post-trial motions seeking JNOV, a new trial or remittitur.
According to the opinion, Heenan and friends went to the First Union Center (now the Wachovia Center) to see the Guns N' Roses show. Shortly after 11 p.m., after some opening acts had performed, an announcement came on, informing the audience that the headline act would not be performing that night.
Heenan testified that the audience became unruly and aggressive after the show was canceled, according to the opinion.
She said she saw food and drinks being thrown from the upper levels and that concertgoers were beginning to run toward the exits.
According to the opinion, the only security Heenan said she saw at the time consisted of two yellow-jacketed employees standing near the exits. Heenan said she got swept up with the crowd, fell and injured her ankle. A couple days later, she had a plate and three screws inserted.
Heenan claimed her injuries caused her to miss two months of work and has rendered her permanently unable to engage in activities such as skiing and rollerblading, according to the opinion.
During the trial, Maier wrote, Comcast Spectator vice president for security Michael Hasson testified as to the extensive damage done to the arena once the cancellation was announced. He described tens of thousands of dollars in estimated repairs, and also spoke of how some six people were hit with chairs during the unrest and required hospitalization.
Hasson also testified that arena management was aware of a possible show cancellation as early as 7:45 p.m. on the night in question. In the next hour or so, he ordered removed from the arena various objects that might be thrown by angry members of the crowd, which had been able to purchase beer during the preceding hours. Hasson testified he also had additional security personnel brought in.
Hasson, who testified he knew about the Vancouver incident in November 2002, acknowledged on the stand that he anticipated the crowd would become disruptive after the cancellation was announced, Maier wrote.
Terence Gibbs, a security expert for Heenan, testified at trial that the security staff in place that night had not been properly trained, and that teams of security personnel should have been in position to respond when the cancellation announcement was made.
"Mr. Hasson's testimony established that he was aware that this crowd was a hard rock crowd which required additional security even under normal circumstances," Maier wrote. "His testimony that he knew of the earlier cancellation supported Mr. Gibbs' opinion that he should have had a plan in place in the event of cancellation."
Maier, citing Section 344 of the Restatement of Torts, concluded that Heenan had met her burden of proof as to her negligence claim against Comcast Spectator and Spectrum Arena Limited. Section 344 concerns possessors of property who are negligent in providing a safe environment for business invitees.
"Under Section 344 ... defendants owed a duty to plaintiff to anticipate possible dangers and to take reasonable precautions against such," Maier wrote. "The hasty exit by nearly 14,000 Guns N' Roses fans, all disappointed, some angry and some violent, can be considered harmful third-party conduct [as] referred to in Section 344 which defendants should have anticipated and [against which they should have] formulated a plan to protect visitors such as plaintiff."
Maier also noted that Hasson had refused to call the December 2002 scene a "riot" during cross-examination by plaintiff's counsel but had used that exact term on direct.
He also found that though Heenan's medical bills had totaled only $60,000, and her lost wages only $5,800, "mere disparity between the amount of out-of-pocket expenses and the verdict will not by itself provide sufficient basis to upset the award."
Defense attorney Andrew Connolly of Post & Schell declined to comment on the case.
Heenan's lawyer, Philadelphia solo practitioner Frank Branella, said his client was pleased with the verdict.
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