Thomas, Thomas &Hafer Attorney B. Patrick O’Grady Wins Dismissal of Wrongful Death Action

TT&H Attorney, Patrick O’Grady, a partner in the firm’s Richmond, VA office, recently won the dismissal of a $24 million wrongful death case arising out of a shooting at a county fair.  Patrick represented the farm that owned the fairgrounds where the shooting occurred, as well as the family members that organized and ran the fair.

The Plaintiffs presented several claims based upon theories of premises liability and assumed duties.  Plaintiffs claimed that the fairgrounds were improperly designed and had insufficient means for emergency ingress and egress.  Plaintiffs also claimed that the Defendants owed a duty to protect the fair patrons from the criminal acts of other patrons by virtue of the special relationship between the business and its invitees, as well as alleged incidents of prior fights at the fair.  Agreeing with Patrick’s arguments, the Court dismissed the case, holding that the Defendants did not have a duty to protect the decedent from the acts of a murderer.

For more information on this case, Patrick can be contacted at (804) 566-3570 or pogrady@tthlaw.com.