Re: Boston Globe (Finally) Weighs In On CCU Liability

["Dan Billings" <billings@suscom-maine.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "rogerkirk" <rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net>
To: <brian_vita@cssinc.com>; <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>; "Dan
Billings" <billings@suscom-maine.net>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 4:23 PM
Subject: Re: Boston Globe (Finally) Weighs In On CCU Liability

>> In cases involving negligence, is there not a requirement that the
defendant must show that [s]he expended some "reasonable" effort to prevent
the occurance?

The issue would be whether CC violated some duty.  Does a station that
promotes a concert have a duty to make sure that the building will be safe
and not overcrowded?  Yes, if they are actually the promoter of the event,
probably not if they are only advertising the event.

>Is a promoter of an event required to perform due diligence as regards the
event being promoted?  Or are they on solid legal ground to accept simply as
a matter of faith that what they are being paid to promote is legal and not
fraught with "gotchas?"

I don't think anyone has alleged that CC was the promoter of the event.
They simply promoted the event on their station, as stations do for many
events.  I don't think such advertising of an event brings with it a duty to
make sure that the building where the event is held will be safe.  If the
plaintiff could show that CC had some reason to believe that the event was
not safe, they might have a case.  In this case, the Station was a going
concern that often hosted bands.  CC was probably safe to assume that it was
a legal venue.

I could come up with many hypothetical situations under which CC could be
found liable.  My objection was to a lawyer saying he would sue CC, while
admitting he did not have a theory to how they were liable.

-- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine