Babes Off The Hook

Tort law fans will enjoy a decision of the Indiana Supreme Court involving the so-called "fireman's rule." The court discusses the history of Indiana law on the subject that begins with an 1893 case denying a cause of action to a fireman injured responding to a fire in downtown Indianapolis. Here, a police officer and his spouse had sued an adult entertainment establishment for injuries allegedly sustained in responding to a call concerning an unruly, drunk, underage patron. the court found that the suit had properly been dismissed:

In sum, [the] complaint alleged nothing suggesting that [defendant] Babes was negligent in any respect apart from the negligence that produced the emergent situation with the unruly patron. Without any such allegation, the complaint fails to state a claim against Babes in the face of the fireman's rule.

(Mike Frisch)