A federal civil trial has begun in which a 26-year-old woman is suing the manager and employees of the popular Ocean City nightclub Seacrets for $1 million, claiming she was raped after club security tossed her out and left her on a bench near a parking lot without her belongings.
The incident happened during the 2008 Memorial Day holiday weekend. The victim, who isn't being identified, said she's hoping a jury will help define how far a club's security should extend.
"It's an interesting case because the jury has a tough decision to make," said attorney Alex Brown, a liability expert.
Seacrets is the largest nightclub in Ocean City, where the capacity can swell to 5,000.
In a Baltimore court on Monday, the woman's attorney admitted she fell to the floor at the club in front of a security guard.
Her complaint claims she was ejected for being too intoxicated and that security refused to let her get back in to find her friends and get her personal belongings, which included her identification.
Seacrets personnel escorted the plaintiff to a bench adjacent to a Seacrets parking lot, the complaint said. The woman left in search of her friends but came back about a half-hour later.
The complaint said a man then repeatedly punched her in the face and body for several minutes. After disappearing and coming back minutes later, the complaint said the man then dragged the plaintiff to an area behind a building, where he raped her.
34 comments:
This is a hard one. Of course no one forced the victim to become intoxicated to the point of falling down. But then on the other hand, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that someone so intoxicated is vulnerable. I'm leaning towards Searcrets as being liable because they sell a product that could potenially make people vulnerable, so when they want to cut them off they should have extra steps in place that attempt to minimize any potential threats to inebriated patrons.
I agree, Seacrets should be held responsible. Their security staff are nothing more than paid thugs. They salivate at the opportunity to beat the crap out of someone and slam them outside on the concrete. If she was so drunk they should not have left her alone, especially if she told them that her friends and belongings are inside. I hope she sues them for millions.
I also believe Seacrets is liable. If she was so intoxicated she needed to be ejected, what would the harm have been if she was escorted back inside to notify her friends and gather her belongings, and then escorted out? They have an over-abundance of security there and escorting her to notify her friends and gather her belongings would not be difficult to do. If she had been allowed to do that, there may have been a very different result that night.
I don't believe Seacrets is responsible at all. The woprds "Personal Accountablity" come to mind. Apparently she has none. If her wallet was stolen or misplaced while at Seacrets, would Seacrets be responsible? Of course not! Just because something tragic happened doesn't make them any more responsible than if she lost a personal belonging. She is responsible for protecting herself. If she wants to get drunk in public, than she is responsible for her own demise. Everyone wants to blame someone else for their own personal behavior. Perhaps the next time Seacrets escorts a drunken guest out, they should notify the OC Pd so they can then be arrested for public drunkedness.
I agree that Seacrets should definitely be held accountable and liable. 11:08 makes a good point about the security staff. Most of them are young thugs who think they are powerful and have the same authority as OC's cops and usually take the law into their own hands, and on many occasions they illegally assault their customers.
When I visited OC in the 70's & 80's, it was more of a family-oriented place. Nowadays, OC has become the new "Sin City" of the U.S. because of immoral places like Seacrets that blanket the town and who all encourage drunkenness and barbarous crimes, such as brutal assaults & rapes. Many people enviously admire Seacrets' owner Leighton Moore because he is a multi-millionaire, but in reality he is a man who profits from destroying "young & dumb" people's lives from the out-of-control sinful environment he promotes and who has made his enormous fortune from numerous amounts of our youth's tragic misfortunes.
A man who is worthy of praise and a man we should all admire, Leighton Moore is DEFINITELY NOT!!!
When it happens on your property,you will pay something.
aren't there tons of free cabs in OC? if she was awake enough to remember what happened i am sure she could have remembered where she was staying.. they could have called a cab for her atleast.
I'm all for personal accountablity and of course no one force her to drink herself into oblivion. However when you sell a potenially dangerous product I think liability increases.
I can't see any difference in this than in when a pharmaceutical company is held liable when one of their products harms someone.
It is no secret that alcohol consumption can make people vulnerable. At the very least an establishment that sells alcohol has not only an ethical but a moral duty to the community at large to protect from what they profit from.
Had this woman after being ejected (which means Seacrets knew she was highly intoxicated), drove a car and killed someone would Searcrets then be liable? If the answer is yes to some, then Seacrets should be held accountable because they not only created a victim but allowed her to become one.
If her friends were in the club why did she wander somewhere else to look for them? Why not just stay on the bench outside of the bar and wait for them to come out? If it was durin the summer I doubt the conditions outside were too bad. Seacrets is so large I have spent an hour looking for my friends when I wasn't intoxicated. I can only imagine how long it would take a drunk person stumbling around to find them. Was security supposed to round up every tall guy with brown hair or every girl in a blue dress an bring them outside to see if they were her friends? I feel horrible for what happened to the girl but the bar didn't make her drink too much and they did not tell her to wonder off to look for her friends that she knew where inside.
Hopefully Seacrets will be found innocent. She by her own admission admitted that she left and then returned approx 30 minutes later.
For those that easily put the blame on the level of intoxication totally on Seacrets must have been following the young lady all night long and can verify that she did not have any drinks before she got to Seacrets.
Cabs? They are lined up outside the club all of the time. Personal Responsibility...absolutely.
Leighton Moore a millionaire? Only his accountants know for sure. Leighton getting rich off of dumb and young souls? Hardly. I am glad to live in a town that Leighton Moore is involved in. He is HEAVILY involved in the town and makes more contributions than you can imagine. Without any cameras or spotlights. For those of you that think OC is a Sin City... Stay in your own parrish.
Amen to everything 12:37pm said.
"For those that easily put the blame on the level of intoxication totally on Seacrets must have been following the young lady all night long and can verify that she did not have any drinks before she got to Seacrets."
I'm not putting the blame on Seacrets about her level of intoxication only the fact that they knew she was intoxicated therefore vulnerable.
Oh come on.It was just an assault with a friendly weapon.She was asking for it.Is that thing gold plated or something? Good grief,you might think a serious crime had occurred or something.The severity of this is on par with the kids who were playing cops and robbers and got suspended for it.
to 1:10: If you don't think rape's a serious crime, you obviously have never had it happen to you. The scars left are for a lifetime. May karma do its thing, you soulless poor excuse for a human being
1:10. WHAT??? Please tell me you are kidding?
For those who asked why she came back, why she didn't take a cab, or go back to her place, remember her friends, her cell phone, money and probably the keys to her place were all inside where she was not allowed to get them. If she had her belongings, she probably could have gotten a cab or gone back to her place.
"Cabs? They are lined up outside the club all of the time. Personal Responsibility...absolutely."
Do you think she was remiss in not taking a cab? What about her not having her personel belongings? Was she asked by any of the staff if she had everything or to go and get her stuff before being ejected? Wouldn't it be prudent to have in place a policy that dictates patrons must be asked about and/or escorted back in to get belongs before or after being ejected? Shouldn't attempts by staff be made to locate companions and let them know the situation afterall they could be the ones with the keys to the condo or hotel.
If Seacrets took reasonable care to ensure safety of this woman then they shouldn't be held liable. If they just tossed her out in her drunken state and left her with no concern for her welfare or even to see that she had a way off of their premisis and money on her to pay than they are liable.
This is interesting. Keep the civil debate going. It's fascinating to see how people have different thoughts and can come to opposing conclusions about this.
12;37 - I will travel to any Parrish that I desire & will be striving to turn OC into a more respectable area. It is a filthy mess that needs some serious mop action.
1:10 - You are 1 sick & wicked puppy and this earth has no use for scum like you.
2:36 - kudos to your logical & rational post.
"Cabs? They are lined up outside the club all of the time. Personal Responsibility...absolutely."
12:37,
On the flip side doesn't Seacret's have a reponsibility to see that she has her belongings which may include items necessary such as money in order to get that cab you mention?
Also no where does it say she left the property. What this article says is she left the bench she was escorted to for 1/2 an hr to search for her friends.
I'm thinking Seacrets used poor judgement in dealing with someone who was intoxicated to the point of falling down. Was any care even taken to see that she wasn't driving which could have put innocent people at risk?
I don't understand the logic of just tossing a highly intoxicated person out the door without making the extra attempt of getting them off the property safely and in a manner which doesn't endanger the public.
If it's true that in fact she asked to be let back in to find her friends and get her belongings which included (and especially) her ID and was refused than to me this shows a serious flaw in the way Seacrets handles over intoxicated patrons. Staff should ask not once but twice in front of a witness if the person has all their belongings before/during and/or after being ejected and all efforts should be made to find belongings if possible.
Lawlessness has recently increased in OC, while the morals and compassion of its people have sadly decreased at a rapid pace in recent years.
I think that Seacrets should be slapped with some kind of fine and forced to provide video surveillance of their property if they do not already. What is typical protocol when you get thrown out of a bar?
Sounds like bouncers are to be babysitters as well? If her friends wanted they could have left when she was removed. That whats wrong with kids never taking responsibiley for their actions. Its always someone elses fault,everyone else should have done more. Grow UP!
I'm unclear on where the rape occured? Was it on Seacret's property? They question the plaintiff wants the jury to answer is how far security extends.
If I'm correct Seacrets employs what they refer to as "Security" which broadens their responsibilities much more than a "bouncer" whose function is to remove unruly patrons. So in answer to 7:25's question, yes Security is bound on occasion to act as a "babysitter" when there is potential harm that may come to someone on the property they are tasked with keeping an eye on. Security's function is to not only keep property from being damaged but also makes all reasonable efforts to prevent a crime from occuring on that property.
Seacrets IS responsible. GUARANTEE they will pay. Guaranteed.
In 2008 give me a break! Where has she been all this time? Time for people to take responsibility for their own actions.
Sounds like someone trying to secure their financial future on the back of someone who earned it. It would be impossible for staff to attend to every persons individual needs - have you been to Secrets on a holiday night?
Is there any proof of the rape and beating? Pictures, Police report any witnesses?
Yes, 11:49. Perp was eventually caught using DNA database. From what I remember several patrons actually chased the perp but lost him on the beach.
11:40 It's the trial that just started but we have no idea when the suit was filed which could have been years ago. Cases take years to work their way to an actual trial.
A quick online search and you can pull up the actual court docs relating to this. Case was filed in May of 2011. What's interesting is it's the same fed judge (Nickerson) who heard the Waterkeepers/Hudson lawsuit.
From court docs-
"Under Maryland law, “a possessor of
land who holds it open for business purposes is subject to
liability to business invitees for harm caused by negligent or
intentional acts of third persons, if possessor fails to
exercise reasonable care to discover that such acts are being
done or are likely to be done.” Corinaldi v. Columbia
Courtyard, Inc., 873 A.2d 483, 492 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 2005).
That duty to exercise reasonable care can be based on knowledge
of prior similar incidents. Id. That duty can also arise where
a possessor of land voluntarily undertakes to provide security
but does so in a negligent manner. See Scott v. Watson, 359
A.2d 548, 555 (Md. 1976)."
11:49-Answer to your question from docs-
"the videotape shows a “flurry
of activity between Plaintiff and her attacker which is
consistent with a violent assault” which begins around 2:22 a.m.
ECF No. 39 at 17. Police later find blood stains on the white
Honda and Plaintiff’s shoes and an earring on the ground near
the vehicle."
If anyone is intersted in the court documents related to this case-Google
Civil Action No. WMN-11-1399
Can anybody identify who the attorneys are fot the plaintiff? My online search brings only one document, but no attorneys names. Talk about a ticking time bomb is this place. Unfortunately so much cash money is made at this place that safety is a secondary concern for the town and the patrons of the business. Its great to help the hospital and help fund a helicopter pad there, but it must be asked if its ok that the funds to do so are from an irresponsible business that helps provide the DWI circumstances that increase its need. Perhaps this wont be the first lawsuit for the owner, or for the town that turns a blind eye to his irresponsibility.
Secrets is absolutely responsible. They have a responsibility to protect their patrons from being victimized. . The owner makes millions capitalizing on serving young and middle aged women lots of alcohol, then watch as they lose their composure, common sense, decision making skills, . Then they get thrown to the perverted wolves just waiting for those vulnerable women to prey on. Young women are targets. Sea rest is the demise of ocean city. Between all the plastic cups I see floating in the canal next door at wight bay to the drugdeals easily seen in the parking lots, along with the accidents, fights , vomiting by bay princess- I have seen it all. If the cops wants to stop half of the crime in ocean city I would love to invite them up to the 5th floor at wight bay where they will have a birds eye view to the drug dealing, prostitution, sexual harassment, driving while intoxicated..etc.... please ocean city police department put cameras up on 5th floor of wight bay building facing secrets , or just take a seat with a pair of binoculars to witness the complete degradation of ocean city by a filthy rich owner of sea rest who is ruining our town. Seacrets needs to be reigned in. Make it a respectable place so the rest of us don’t have to live in fear!
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