Wrongful Death Shooting of 18-Year Old - Orange County - Summary Judgment Granted

On August 21, 2025, Partners Katherine McKinley and Senior Appellate Partner Daniel Weinger obtained a final summary judgment on a negligent security wrongful death shooting matter styled Estate of Deceased v. Defendant Mobile Home Community. This was a very sad case of an 18-year old who was shot and killed in a botched robbery on a property that had no security or access control in our client’s trailer park, despite a shooting death 11 months earlier. Our position was the decedent had been lured to the premises, where he was shot and killed during an attempted robbery. We moved for summary judgment on numerous grounds. Following extensive briefing and oral argument, the trial court agreed that Plaintiff could not establish that the decedent’s status on the property was that of an invitee. We continue to obtain written legal opinions to build precedent that “targeting” cases should not be reasonably foreseeable as a matter of law. Our dedicated “targeting” team develops defenses on crimes that involve known offenders and known victims.