Yauchi v. Roe
On April 25, 1996 Plaintiff, age 16, and several friends
went uninvited to a teenage party in Diamond Bar. The
host, 17 year-old Deft Danny Doucette, planned the party
for a night his parents would not be home. He arranged
for a disc jockey and beer. He charged many of the guests
a $5.00 fee to cover his expenses. This is a common
practice among teens in Diamond Bar; further, it is
not uncommon for uninvited persons to show up at the
party, pay the fee and be admitted.
Doucette and his friends were football players. They
invited the team, cheerleaders and others. Plaintiff
and his friends were not invited guests, as Doucette
believed plaintiff and his friends were gang members
and furthermore, Doucette and plaintiff had previously
fought over a girl who was invited to the party.
 While
plaintiff was standing outside the Doucette home waiting
to pay his $5 fee, an altercation arose at the entrance
between alleged gang members and Doucette's football
team friends. An admitted gang member, who may have
arrived at the party with Plaintiff, pull out a gun
and started shooting in the air. Everyone started running
for cover.
As Plaintiff ran towards the street, 20 year-old Defendant
Maurice Doucette emerged from the house with a .45 caliber
Glock pistol. Doucette fired one shot, striking Plaintiff
on his left side and severing his spinal cord.
The Glock pistol was brought to the home by Defendant
Doe. Doe brought 2 weapons, a Glock and a Ruger, along
with a shoulder holster. LA County Sheriff's deputies
investigated and found the shooting to be justifiable
self defense. Maurice Doucette was never criminally
prosecuted.
As the Doucette family lived in a rented house with
minimal insurance and assets, and as the police had
found that Doucette acted in self-defense, the case
proceeded on the theory of negligent entrustment against
Defendant Doe who had brought the weapons to the party
and who's father was a well-to-do business owner.
The defendant Doe negligently entrusted the weapon
to Maurice Doucette, knowing that gang members and trouble
might arise at the party; that there was reasonable
inference from statements made by Defendant Doucette
that Defendant Doe had brough the guns and ammunition
for protection at the party, and not for target practice
as he claimed.
The injury resulted from a gunshot wound to the spinal
cord; T8-9 paraplegia from the waist down. The bullet
entered Plaintiffs left side severing his spinal cord.
$4.7 million settlement was reached a few days after
the defense lost a second summary judgment motion on
the negligent entrustment theory and on the same day
that the ballistics tests were performed. |
