Night-club owners have been warned they cannot dump their problems on the street simply by ejecting patrons and leaving possible innocent victims of assault to their fates.
Club owners had a responsibility for providing security supervision outside, as well as inside, their premises, Circuit Court President Mr Justice Esmond Smyth said in the Circuit Civil Court.
Awarding a man £4,000 damages for injuries he received in an assault at Good Time Charlies disco in St Lawrence's Hotel, Howth, Mr Justice Smyth held that the owners' obligations did not end at the entrance door.
"Occupiers have an obligation in all of these situations to employ competent security personnel and instruct them adequately in their duties," he said.
The judge said he accepted that Mr Patrick McEnery (21), of Barry's Court Road, Coolock, Dublin, had been the victim of an unprovoked assault in the disco. He told Mr Tony Hunt, counsel for Mr McEnery, that when his client had been "quite vigorously ejected by bouncers", he had been very violently assaulted outside by those who had earlier struck him in the disco. Mr McEnery could only remember wakening up in a pool of blood.
"It seems to me that in incidents such as this, some supervision should have been provided outside in order to ensure the other party was not allowed into close contact with the plaintiff," Mr Justice Smyth said.
"They should have been kept apart or reasonable steps should have been taken to ensure a further fight would not have taken place outside the doors of the club, as happened on this occasion," he said.
Knowing Mr McEnery had been assaulted inside, there was an obligation on security staff to warn him and look after his safety until they were reasonably satisfied there was no further danger to him or, in the event of a further assault, to rescue him.
He said Mr McEnery had suffered abrasions to his shoulders and neck and had been left with a very small scar in a position which would not embarrass him in the future.