USCA1 Opinion

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
_________________________
No. 94-2231
JOHN P. COYNE, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs, Appellants,
v.
TABER PARTNERS I, d/b/a
AMBASSADOR PLAZA HOTEL & CASINO, ET AL.,
Defendants, Appellees.
___________________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
[Hon. Justo Arenas, U.S. Magistrate Judge]
_____________________
___________________________
Before
Selya, Cyr and Stahl, Circuit Judges.
______________
___________________________

Mark S. Shuman, with whom Jose L. Rivero Vergne and Moreda &
______________
_____________________
________
Moreda were on brief, for appellants.
______

Maria Soledad Ramirez-Becerra, with

_____________________________
on brief, for appellees.

whom Mercado & Soto was

______________

_________________________
May 4, 1995
_________________________

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

SELYA, Circuit Judge.
_____________
when

the lower

court

This negligence action perished

granted a

motion

for summary

judgment.

Discerning error, we resuscitate the suit.1

I.
I.

BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Consistent with the summary judgment standard, we

the

material

facts

in a

light

that

flatters,

but does

limn

not

impermissibly distort, the plaintiff's claims.

On

July

8,

1992,

drivers and tour operators

operated

taxis

and

other

a local

union

representing

taxi

frustrated by competition from hotelamateurs

declared

strike

that

virtually

paralyzed

principal airport.
congregated at

transportation

services

San

Juan's

Despite a beefed-up police presence, strikers

various points,

including

Avenue (the main thoroughfare leading to and

The

at

labor unrest was open

Baldorioty de

Castro

from the airport).2

and notorious; reports

of the strike

appeared, inter alia, in the July 9 edition of a major newspaper,

_____ ____
the San Juan Star.
_____________
Carol

Coyne, a

resident of

Massachusetts, blissfully

unaware of the strike, flew into the airport on July

9.

Because

____________________

1Nominally, there are two plaintiffs

Carol Coyne and her
husband, John
and two remaining defendants
Taber Partners I
(Taber), proprietor of the Ambassador Plaza Hotel, and its
insurer, United Community Insurance Co.
Since John Coyne's
claims derive from the injuries that his wife sustained, and
since the insurer's liability is coextensive with its insured's,
under local law, we treat the appeal as if Carol Coyne and Taber
were the sole parties in interest.

2The obstructionist tactics met with some degree of success.

For example, the record indicates that strikers thwarted at least
one effort to usher tourists away from the airport by van.
2

she had

reserved accommodations

dispatched a

driver, Angel

airport

to the

hotel.

arrive,

plaintiff

at the Ambassador

Marrero, to

While waiting

witnessed

Plaza, Taber

transport her
for Taber's

several

from the

emissary to

confrontations

between

strikers and motorists.

Following the same practice he had thrice utilized that

day, Marrero crossed the picket line driving a red Ford rented by
the hotel.

When he reached

the terminal, he refused

to alight

from the vehicle and plaintiff noticed that he seemed frightened.

Once he

had collected

the plaintiff, other

and their luggage, Marrero headed for the

prospective guests,

hotel.

After the Ford

reached Baldorioty de Castro Avenue, a man stepped in front of it

and blocked its path.
car.3

One

such projectile

plaintiff.
from

Other persons began hurling objects at the

shattered a window

Marrero eventually managed to

this precarious

situation and

and injured

the

extricate the vehicle

immediately sought

medical

attention for plaintiff.

Some time elapsed.

Then, plaintiff, striking a blow of

her own, sued Taber in Puerto Rico's federal district court.

28

U.S.C.

1332 (1988 & Supp.IV 1992) (stating requirements for

diversity jurisdiction).

After preliminary skirmishing, not now

relevant, the court, in the person of

U.S.C.

See
___

636(c)

disposition.

(1988),

granted

a magistrate judge, see 28

___
Taber's

motion

for

brevis
______

This appeal ensued.

____________________

3A rational factfinder could infer that not only the man who

blocked the Ford's path but also the rock-throwers were strikers
or strike sympathizers.
3

II.
II.

THE SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

THE SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
The

judgment

Civil

"if

the

interrogatories,

and

Rules

empower

pleadings,
admissions

a court

to

grant

depositions,
on

file,

summary

answers

together

with

to

the

affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any

material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment

as a matter of
prolifically

law."

Fed.

R. Civ. P. 56(c).

written

on the nuances and ramifications of this rule, see,

___

e.g., National Amusements, Inc.

____ _________________________
735 (1st Cir. 1995),
(U.S.

We have

v. Town of Dedham, 43
______________

petition for cert. filed, 63

________________________

F.3d 731,

U.S.L.W. 3736

Apr. 4, 1995) (No. 94-1630); Vasapolli v. Rostoff, 39 F.3d

_________
_______

27, 32 (1st Cir. 1994); Dow v. United Bhd. of Carpenters, Etc., 1

___
_______________________________
F.3d

56, 58 (1st Cir. 1993); Pagano

______

v. Frank, 983 F.2d 343, 347

_____

(1st Cir. 1993); Wynne v. Tufts Univ. Sch. of Med., 976 F.2d 791,

_____
793-94 (1st Cir.

________________________

1992), cert.
_____

denied, 113 S.
______

Ct. 1845

(1993);

United States v. One Parcel of Real Property (Great Harbor Neck,

______________
___________________________ __________________
New Shoreham, R.I.), 960
__________________

F.2d 200, 204 (1st Cir.

Muriente v. Agosto-Alicea, 959 F.2d

________
_____________

1992); Rivera_______

349, 351-52 (1st Cir. 1992);

Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5,

____________
__________________________
Cir. 1990);
Cir.

1990),

Garside v. Osco Drug, Inc.,

_______
_______________
and

it

would

be

7-8 (1st

895 F.2d 46, 48-49 (1st

pleonastic

to

rehearse

that

jurisprudence here.
For present purposes, it

suffices to say that "summary

judgment's role is to pierce the boilerplate of the pleadings and

assay the parties' proof
actually required."

in order to determine whether

Wynne, 976 F.2d

_____

at 794.

trial is

Rule 56 motion

may well end the

the

case unless the party opposing

existence of a trialworthy

issue as to

it demonstrates

some material fact.

Exercising

de
__

novo review,
____

see Pagano,
___ ______

983

taking the facts (including the reasonable

in

the

light

Muriente,
________
record

most

959

in

rational

favorable

F.2d at

this case

to

352, we
is

F.2d at

347, and

inferences therefrom)

the plaintiff,

conclude

see
___

that the

"sufficiently open-ended

Rivera_______

evidence of
to

permit a

factfinder to resolve the [liability] issue in favor of

either side," National Amusements, 43

____________________

F.3d at 735.

Thus,

the

court below terminated the suit prematurely.

III.
III.

ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
In

granting summary

plaintiff's

claim wanting in two

that because

reasonable

reasoned that
foreseeable

ways.

the lower
First,

the rock-throwing incident took

[hotel's] premises," Taber

provide

judgment,

security

the harm
or

did not

of which plaintiff

causally

attributable to Taber.

related

to

any

the court ruled

place "outside the

owe "a duty

measures."

court found

to protect

Second,

the

complained "was
acts

or

and

court

not

omissions"

We examine each theorem separately.

A.
A.

Duty.
Duty.
____

The substantive law of Puerto Rico governs the issue of

negligence
304 U.S.
684,

in this diversity suit.

See Erie R.R. v. Tompkins,

___ __________
________

64, 78 (1938); Daigle v. Maine Med. Ctr., Inc., 14 F.3d

______
_____________________

689 (1st

Cir. 1994).

Under

Puerto Rico

law, negligence

actions

generally hark back to

which imposes

liability

article 1802 of

upon a

person

the Civil Code,

who "causes

damage

to

another
31,

party through fault or negligence."

5141

(1991).

article 1057

In this

instance, plaintiff

of the Civil Code,

(1991), excerpted in the

P.R. Laws Ann. tit.

alleges that

P.R. Laws Ann. tit.

margin,4 puts a gloss on

31,

3021

article 1802.

Taber

demurs, asseverating that article 1057 does not apply.

agree

with

plaintiff

that,

operation of article 1802.

here,

article

1057

informs

Compare, e.g., Rivera Perez

_______ ____ ____________

op. at 8) (discussing

the

v. Cruz
____

Corchado, 87 J.T.S. 51 (1987) (Official English Translation:

________
RE-86-18, slip

We

No.

interface between articles

1057 and 1802).

It

brooks

no

dispute

that

article

liability upon

certain establishments, such

and hospitals,

that fail

the circumstances
v.

Inmobiliaria

to provide security

Inc.,

109 P.R.R.

imposes

as hotels, schools,

commensurate with

attendant to their operations.

Rac,

1057

1150,

See Estremera
___ _________
1154-55

(1980)

________________________
(stating that liability can be found
demand for greater protection, but
neglects to
security

bolster security).

when circumstances create a

the establishment nonetheless

The duty to

furnish heightened

is thought to stem from the character of the enterprise

in which the defendant engages and from the special nature of the
____________________
4Article 1057 provides in pertinent part:
The
fault or negligence
of the debtor
consists of the omission of the steps which
may be required by the character of the
obligation and which may pertain to the
circumstances of the persons, time, and place
. . . .
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 31,

3021 (1991).
6

relationship

between the defendant and its invitees.

1154 (noting that a hotel

On this
that

See id. at
___ ___

"basically substitutes [for] a home").

rationale, the Commonwealth's courts

have made pellucid

the prospect of criminal activity may give rise to the need

for such an establishment to furnish "a wider scope of protection

and security
Id.; accord
___ ______

than can be supplied

by law-enforcement agencies."

Elba v. Univ. of P.R., 90 J.T.S. 13 (1990) (Official

____
_____________

English Translation: No. RE-86-214, slip op. at 23) (finding that

university's failure to provide

adequate security in a high-risk

rape area gave rise to violent assault of female student).

Notwithstanding
magistrate

judge,

these

accepting

general

principles,

artificial distinctions

the

drawn

by

Taber, ruled that article 1057 landed wide of the mark, and that,

on the facts reflected in the summary judgment record, Taber owed

no duty

to furnish

security for

magistrate advanced two theories.

1.
1.
v.

640 F.

posited that,

ergo, their

committed by third persons.

In Jacob, an
_____
from

the airport

_____

Supp.

117 (D.P.R.
of law,

1986), the

cabdrivers (and,

liable to passengers

for crimes

Jacob is not a comfortable fit.

_____

independent cabdriver transporting

to a

The

Relying primarily on Jacob

as a matter

employers) are not

protection.

Neither holds water.

Cabdrivers' Liability.
Cabdrivers' Liability.
______________________

Eagle Star Ins. Co.,

____________________

magistrate

plaintiff's

hotel paused

at a

red light.

fares

Thieves

rushed the car, held the driver at gunpoint, and attempted to rob
the
shot.

passengers.
See
___

In the

id. at
___

118.

commotion that ensued,

The district

a passenger was

court concluded

on the
__ ___

particular facts
__________ _____

of the
__ ___

case that a
____

cabdriver had

guard against third-party criminal activity.

no duty

to

See id. at 119.

___ ___

In

reaching its decision the court noted that "[u]nlike

. the nature

of [defendant's] business

security measures."
Here,
hotel,
furnish
business.
that

that

transportation

in

is being
services

Moreover, unlike in

the cabdriver

does not demand

special

Id.
___

however, unlike

albeit one

a hotel . .

was "a

Jacob, the
_____
sued

defendant is
__

because it

ancillary

to

elected

its

to

principal

Jacob, where the court emphasized

_____

public carrier

operator of the vehicle rented to Taber

for hire,"

id., the
___

was not a common carrier

(or even a cabdriver) but an employee of the hotel, performing

private service for a private purpose.

Thus, though Coyne was in

a car, she was just as much a ward of the hotel as if she was

in

her suite or in the lobby.

Even

assuming, then,

within the reach of article

position

we are of the

1057

that taxicab

operators are

a matter on which

not

we take no

opinion that the defendant here must be

viewed as

an innkeeper rather

follows, therefore, that the

than as

a taxicab operator.

It

magistrate's reliance on Jacob does

_____

not resonate with the issue of duty in the instant case.

2.
2.

Locus.
Locus.
_____

Though

is

inapposite,

an actionable duty.

question about the existence

This question

emanates from a dictum in

Chapman v. E.S.J. Towers, Inc., 803 F. Supp. 571

_______
____________________
There, the court

the

_____

magistrate's opinion raises another

of

Jacob

(D.P.R. 1992).

refused to grant summary judgment,

finding the

defendant hotel potentially liable

for the injuries sustained by

the plaintiff guest as a result of third-party criminal activity.

See id. at 575.
___ ___

Nevertheless, Judge Perez-Gimenez wrote:

the situs of the crime

hotel

premises,

granting
dictum,

the

in this case been a place

Court

the defendants'

might

motions .

not
. .

have been
."

Id.
___

"Had

other than the

hesitant

in

Citing this

the magistrate suggested that, even if Taber owed a duty

to

provide

heightened

security

qua
___

transporter,

that

duty

obtained only as to acts that occurred on the hotel's premises.

We place no weight on this slender reed.
physical locus of the act, stricto senso,
_______ _____
hotelier's

duty to

touchstone of the
hotel's special
incipient peril,

furnish

It is not the

that gives rise to the

heightened security.

duty consists

in roughly equal

relationship with

Rather,

the

parts of

the

its guests, its

knowledge of

and its ability to exercise a meaningful degree

of control over the situation, regardless of the situs.

We think this approach is compelled by the reasoning of

the Puerto Rico Supreme Court in Elba.
____
the

University's duty

to provide

There, the court anchored

adequate security

to persons

with whom it had a special relationship (students) in knowledge

the "previous occurrence of similar criminal acts [and]

the fact

that university authorities knew or should have known about them"

coupled with the nonperformance of acts
control

"the failure to eliminate conditions that may give rise

to sexual assaults;
protect

within the defendant's

the total

the students;

absence of a

and lack

priority system

of adequately
9

to

trained security

personnel."
Elba
____

Elba,
____

occurred

supra, slip op.

_____

on

the

campus,

at 16.

we

believe

reasoning clearly indicates that the

affinity,
location

knowledge, and control,

test, is

the

key to

Though the rape

that

the

in

court's

tri-cornered combination of

rather than a one-dimensional

determining

whether a

duty

to

provide security exists.

So it

is here.

Affinity

is a given;

in

host-guest

were

Knowledge

exists, at least to the extent that, as we demonstrate

a reasonable jury could

have known) of the strike and the

portended.
requisite
car,

Similarly, a

find that Taber

find

knew (or should

that Taber

had the

employed the driver, rented the

transportation arrangements

guests, honored Coyne's reservation,

selected the route.

relationship.

likelihood of violence that it

jury could

degree of control; it

made the

the

plaintiff

infra,
_____

admittedly

Taber and

with

newly arriving

dispatched the vehicle, and

This combination of affinity, knowledge, and

control is sufficient to trigger a legally enforceable duty.

We have said

enough on

"the circumstances of the

this score.

Bearing in

persons, time, and place," we

mind

think a

jury could supportably find that a duty to provide security arose

under P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 31,
at 1154 (stating that

3021.

See Estremera, 109 P.R.R.

___ _________

a duty to provide additional

security may

arise when the circumstances so warrant); see

___
supra, slip
_____

op. at 8.

stage that
believe

And since

Taber employed

that a

jury, not

also Rivera Perez,

____ ____________

there is no

evidence at this

any special security

a judge, ought

to say

precautions, we

whether Taber

10

failed to

take steps

that its duty

required.5

See Negron
___ ______

v.

Orozco Rivera, 113 P.R.R. 921, 929 (1983).

_____________
B.
B.
Even
owed to

Foreseeability.
Foreseeability.
______________

if a jury could

plaintiff, a breach of

find that Taber

violated a duty

duty is not actionable

absent a

causal relationship between the breach and the ensuing harm.

Elba, supra,
____ _____

slip op.

at 12.

"[F]or this

causal relation

See
___

to

exist the damage must have been foreseeable and avoidable had the
omitted action been timely taken."
Volvo Car Corp., 946 F.2d 967,

Id.; see also Malave-Felix v.

___ ___ ____ ____________

972 (1st Cir. 1991) (noting

that

_______________
foreseeability serves

as

liability under Puerto

the "linchpin"

Rico law).

foreseeability does not mean

result which

was

way, consequences of
___
Sewer Auth.,
____________

In Puerto

have been

to be under a duty to
a particular

86 P.R.R.

490, 496

tort

Rico, "the rule of

that the precise risk or

encountered should

essential factor is

for establishing

the exact

foreseen.

The

foresee, in a general
____________

type."

Gines
_____

v. Aqueduct &
___________

(1962)

(citing 2

Harper and

James, The Law of Torts 1147 (1956)) (emphasis supplied).

________________
In

most

situations,

factbound and case-specific.

grist

for

the

mill.

Continental Cas. Ins. Co., 895

__________________________

Springer v. Seamen, 821

________
______

questions

are

both

Thus, such questions ordinarily are

factfinder's

Swift v. United States, 866

_____
______________

causation

See,
___

e.g.,
____

Peckham
_______

v.

F.2d 830, 837

(1st Cir.

1990);

F.2d 507, 510-11

(1st Cir.

1989);

F.2d 871, 876 (1st

Cir. 1987).

Puerto

____________________

5We do not decide today that Taber could, or should, have

taken any particular security precautions. We hold only that it
is for the jury, not the judge, to make this determination.
11

Rico follows this general trend.

American Airlines, Inc.,
_________________________
(applying

979

See, e.g., Quinones-Pacheco

___ ____ ________ _______
F.2d

1,

Puerto Rico law); Marshall v.

________

845, 847-48

(1st Cir.

1987) (applying

5-6

(1st

Cir.

v.

1992)

Perez Arzuaga, 828 F.2d

_____________
Puerto Rico law),

cert.
_____

denied, 484 U.S. 1065 (1988).

______

This does not mean that foreseeability is always a jury

______
question.
the

To

establish the foreseeable

evidence must

conclude that the

be such

that

risk complained

risks recognizable by reasonably

diligence under the

character of an

the factfinder
of is among

event,

rationally can
the universe

of

prudent persons acting with due

same or similar circumstances.

See Pacheco
___ _______

v. Puerto Rico Water Resources Auth., 112 D.P.R. 367, 372 (1982);
_________________________________
Jimenez
_______
defendant

v. Pelegrina,
_________
"will not be

112 P.R.R.

881, 886

(1982).

relieved of liability

Because a

by an intervening

cause which could reasonably have been foreseen, nor by one which
is a

normal incident of

the risk

created," Widow of Andino v.

________________

Puerto Rico Water Resources Auth., 93 P.R.R.

___________________________________
criminal

acts of

third parties

sometimes can

168, 178

(1966),

fall within

the

ambit of foreseeability.
supra, slip op. at
_____

See Chapman, 803 F. Supp. at 573; Elba,

___ _______
____

23; Negron, 113 P.R.R. at

______

927-28; Estremera,
_________

109 P.R.R. at 1157 n.6.

Accordingly, the issue we must decide is

whether

circumstances

the

factfinder
violence.
or

facts and
plausibly to

which the

pursuant

to

this

a foreseeable

See Rivera Perez, supra,

___ ____________ _____

negligence on

consists,

infer

of

permit

risk of

episodic

slip op. at 8 ("If the fault

liability of

1057, in

case

the

1802

is predicated

failure to

be diligent

12

according to particular circumstances,

. .

1802 inevitably

centers around the

function of the person's

foresight, as [the]

controlling factor

of [defendant's] liability. .

. .") (quoting

Rivera v. Maryland Cas. Co., 96 P.R.R. 788, 791 (1968)).

______
_________________
The
reasonably

magistrate

foreseeable.

concluded

that

Though he may,

violence

that question

definitively

not

in the end, prove to be

an accurate prophet as a matter of decided fact

answer

was

courts are

only a jury can

constrained by

Rule

56 to

favor.
the

draw all

reasonable inferences

See National Amusements, 43 F.3d at 735.

___ ___________________

current posture

of

the case

demands

Both

parties place

Marrero drove to and from

same red

Ford, transporting

could not

the

errand

recognizable

evidence

plaintiff uses them

but

this

also to

that

that

9, in

hotel

previous occasions,

thrust by

asserting

the airport a

peril

that, in

fourth time in

the very

sort of

the hotel should have realized

was

not

foreseeable,

evidence of discernible

Taber's activity
13

it

awaited the

In short, defendant uses the

not only as

show that

other, earlier-arriving

automobile, on

that prompted the strike,

as

the fact

violent reception that

Marrero to drive through

that it was tempting fate.

trips

We explain briefly.

weight upon

safety on these

Coyne parries

same easily

the

Taber argues that, since the driver had

have foreseen the

plaintiff.
ordering

route in

reject

the airport three times on July

guests without incident.

traversed the

great

nonmovant's

On this basis,

that we

magistrate's conclusion as a matter of law.

the

in the

in fact

earlier

whereas

danger

catalyzed the

harm-producing event.
Both of
standpoint.
the

these scenarios

For present

facts

are plausible from

a factual

purposes, that ends the inquiry:

support plausible

but

conflicting

when

inferences on

pivotal issue in the case, the judge may not choose between those
inferences at the summary
v.
Cir.

judgment stage.

See, e.g.,
___ ____

Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Auth., 835 F.2d

____________________________________
1987) (explaining

ultimate arbiter of the

that,

if the

Greenburg
_________

932, 937 (1st

evidence conflicts,

persuasiveness of the proof must

"the

be the

factfinder, not the lawgiver").

Taber
incident

has a

fallback position.

was not foreseeable because it

explosive

factbound

to warrant jury consideration.

too,

seems

dog has vicious

sufficiently

of its kind during

but that happenstance is not dispositive.

propensities, even

the

To be sure, the attack

may have been the first incident

the July strike

foreseeable.

This,

argues that

lacked knowledge of the

strike's

on the Ford

nature.

It

the first bite

If a

may well

be

"It is no defense to allege that the precise course

or the full extent of the consequences could not be foreseen, the

consequences being of such kind, which in fact happened."

Gines,
_____

86 P.R.R. at 496.
Here,

the

strike

was

propensities were fairly evident.

no

secret.

The

The jury could find

strikers'

that the

article in the San Juan Star furnished constructive notice of the

_____________

14

tense

circumstances

and

plaintiff's observation

the

potential

of events at the

for

violence.6

The

airport before Marrero

arrived lends some slight support to the inference that the rockthrowing incident was

foreseeable.

So

does the evidence

anent

the driver's demeanor.

Another piece

of evidence is

In opposing summary judgment,

of

Capt.

Hector

Mercado

potentially significant.

plaintiff submitted the

Santini,

security

affidavit

consultant.

Plaintiff's expert noted that violence commonly accompanies labor

disputes in Puerto Rico
He

cited

strikes
drivers'

and

violent incidents
at the

airport

union).

He

that this tendency is well

that

had

occurred during

(including strikes
expressed

irresponsibly in thrice sending

the opinion

called by
that

known.

earlier

the taxi

Taber acted

the same driver in the

same car

on the same errand on the same day across the picket line.7
____________________
6Taber

argues that

this article

is hearsay

evidence that

should be excluded from consideration.

This argument overlooks
that plaintiff did not offer the article for the truth of the
matter asserted, but, rather, as tending to establish that the
hotel's management knew or should have known of the volatile
nature of the labor protest. The proffer was admissible for this
purpose.
See, e.g., Price v. Rochford, 947 F.2d 829, 833 (7th
___ ____
_____
________
Cir.
1991) (deeming newspaper
articles admissible because
plaintiff "did not offer the articles to prove that he was in
bankruptcy, only that he was reported to have been in bankruptcy)
________
(emphasis in original); see generally Fed. R. Evid. 801(c)
___ _________
(defining hearsay as "a statement . . . offered in evidence to
prove the truth of the matter asserted").

7Citing Casas Office Machs., Inc. v. Mita Copystar, Inc., 42

_________________________
___________________
F.3d 668 (1st Cir. 1994), Taber argues that the expert's
affidavit
should not
be considered.
This
argument is
unconvincing. In Casas, we confirmed that a district court had
_____
discretion to exclude expert opinion testimony based on a
speculative foundation. See id. at 681-83. Here, however, the
___ ___
lower court did not exclude the expert's affidavit.
Indeed, it
15

These

items

distinguish this case

(finding

of

evidence,

taken

collectively,

from Rivera Perez, supra, slip

_____________ _____

wife not liable for ex-husband's

because she lacked knowledge

op. at

attack on house guest

of his criminal predisposition) and

Estremera, 109 P.R.R. at 1158 (finding criminal attack would have

_________
occurred

regardless

lighting),

that circumstances

foreseeable because

high-risk

Taking
jury

defendant

provided

stairwell

Elba, supra, slip op. at 20

____ _____

made

sexual

assault of

school officials

female

had knowledge

of

rape area) and Negron, 113 P.R.R. at 928 (holding that

______

a reasonable
station,

whether

and make it more akin to

(concluding
student

of

person would have

given

the known

presence

the facts favorably to

reasonably

foreseen criminal act

could find

distinctive

that

plaintiff's

individual).

believe that a
injuries were

of Taber's decision repeatedly

between the airport and the hotel

in the same

private car, chauffeured by the same lone driver, at

the height of the strike,

precautions.

a violent

the plaintiff, we

generally foreseeable consequence

to shuttle guests

of

in police

Put

of foreseeability

without taking any particular security

another way, the case at hand

upon

which

reasonable

minds

yields an issue
might

differ.

Summary judgment is, therefore, inappropriate.

IV.
IV.

CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
We need go

no further.

Viewing the

evidence in

the

light most congenial to the plaintiff, a rational jury could find

all

the elements of

a viable

cause of

____________________
never reached the issue.
16

action:

duty, breach,

causation, and foreseeable harm.

Thus, the plaintiff is entitled

to present her case at a full-dress trial.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
_____________________________________________

17