Assaulted at Dairy Queen. Manager did not call police when asked. Can I sue D Q
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Assaulted at Dairy Queen. Manager did not call police when asked. Can I sue D Q
Rocks thrown by kids while sitting on outdoor patio eating ice cream. 74 year old
husband chased teenage boys. Immediately went inside and asked mgr to call
police. She did not call saying she was too busy and phone did not work. Asked
for name of owner and phone number…she refused. Husband finally called police
and report made.
Asked on June 26, 2016 under Personal Injury, Maryland
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, your husnand cannot sue the store. The fact is that there is no statutory obligation for a 3rd party to contact the police in a situation such as this. Consequently, since there has been no legal breach of a duty to act, your husband has no actionable claim. While morally reprehensible, this manager's actions did not violate the law.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
No, he cannot sue. There is no legal obligation on a person or a business to call the police: the law does not punish people for not contacting the police especially on behalf of third parties (outside of certain very limited exceptions which do not apply: e.g. there are obligatoins on certain professionals to report child abuse). Since there is no obligation on the store manager to call the police, there is no liability for not doing so.
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