Summary Judgment Obtained in Civil Case Related to Las Vegas Mass Murder
Garley v. Floyd; Albertsons-Lead Counsel
Venue: Nevada - Clark County District Court
Results: Motion for Summary Judgment granted
Type of Case: Personal injury
Party Represented: Albertsons, Inc.
Plaintiff Garley alleged emotional distress and psychological treatment based upon his fear of death during a shooting rampage at a Las Vegas Albertsons. Zane Floyd, now sitting on death row in Ely State Prison, apparently harbored murderous fantasies for some time. After being discharged from the Marines due to a DUI, he lost his job, his girlfriend, moved back into a guest house behind his parents, and then gambled away what little money he had left. He therefore decided to hire an "adult entertainer" who visited him at his guest house where she was raped and terrorized with a shotgun for almost two hours. Floyd told her that he had 19 rounds for his sawed-off shotgun and he intended to take out the next 18 people he saw, then himself. He let her go, walked to an Albertsons about 15 minutes from his house and entered the store at 5:15 a.m., shooting. Before he was done, he killed four Albertsons employees and seriously injured a fifth, before surrendering to police, who were called by the store book keeper within 30 seconds of the first shot. Plaintiff Garley ran to the back during the attack, where he was hidden in an upstairs area by other employees who were also hiding.
Plaintiff claimed that seven days prior to the incident, one of the deceased employees had mentioned having a shouting match with someone who tried to buy Vodka without I.D., who had been wearing camouflage pants similar to what Floyd wore on the day of the attack. We made a motion for summary judgment on behalf of Albertsons, analyzing the multiple hearsay components of plaintiff's theory and setting forth a detailed review of the case law on third party criminal assaults across the country. The summary judgment motion was granted, and it is the only granted summary judgment in this area of law we have heard of in Nevada under the "totality of circumstances" rule.
View Other News
Partner Michael Caspino Named Litigation Management Professional of the Year
BVRC Obtains Summary Judgment for Architect in Multi-Million Dollar Fire Loss Case
Boy Scouts of America Present "Man of Character" Award to Michael Caspino
David Olson Obtains Summary Judgment in Golf Course Trip and Fall Case
BVRC Obtains Summary Judgment in Wrongful Death Case
Partner Michael Caspino Elected to Board of Directors for Casa Teresa
BVRC Obtains Summary Judgment in Asbestos Case Against Volvo
Partner Michael Caspino Quoted in Wall Street Journal
Rob Ryder Obtains Defense Verdict in Wrongful Death Case
Las Vegas Office Wins Summary Judgment for Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Breach of Privacy Claim
Nevada Partner Chuck Simmons Victorious in Construction Defect Trial
Trial Victory in “ Lemon Law” Case Against Volvo
Defense Verdict in Injury Claimed Due to “Falling Beer Can”
Michael Caspino Scores Defense Verdict in 6 Month Soil Subsidence Case
Tim Lane Scores Trial Victory for Landlord in Fraud Claim
Defense Verdict in Case Against City of Hermosa Beach
Arbitration Success for BVRC Client Ritz-Carlton Hotels
Nevada BVRC Office Wins Defamation Trial
Trial Victory in Breach of Contract Case Involving Custom Home in Coto de Caza
Defense Verdict in Grocery Store Accident
BVRC Victorious in Defending Client in Legal Malpractice Claim
Southern California Office Obtains Defense Verdict in Six Week Soil Subsidence Trial
Trial Victory for BVRC Nevada Office
Southern California Office Scores Trial Victory for Outback Steakhouse
Defense Verdict in Slip and Fall Case at ARCO Service Station
Defense Verdict for 7UP in Traffic Accident
Lee Harpst Wins Construction Defect Trial
Arizona Office Obtains Defense Verdict at Trial; BVRC Client faced $800,000 Claim
Southern California Office Obtains Defense Verdict in Case Against Ralph’s Grocery Company
Rob Ryder and Jim Brady Take Over Case on Eve of Trial, Get $5.6 Million Verdict Reduced to $81,000
Defense Verdict in Claim by Police Officer Against City of Hermosa Beach
Summary Judgment Obtained in Civil Case Related to Las Vegas Mass Murder
Mike Caspino Obtains Defense Verdict for Marriott International in Catastrophic Injury Case