[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Herald/Globe: Walker To Stand Trial In Rape Suit
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Metro | Region]
Renewed suit: Walker failed to stop rape
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff, 10/06/99
A federal appeals court has
reinstated a lawsuit that was
filed against Boston Celtics forward
Antoine Walker by a woman who alleges he
was negligent for failing to stop three
friends from raping her inside his Waltham
home two years ago.
The claim against Walker by an
unidentified woman had been dismissed last
year by a federal judge who concluded
Walker had no duty under Massachusetts law
to stop the alleged gang rape.
But in a ruling handed down Monday, the US
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
said state law isn't clear about a host's
legal duty to protect guests in his home
and the lower court needed to gather more
facts before deciding the fate of the case
against Walker.
The Appeals Court said the judge must find
out whether there is evidence that Walker
knew the woman was being raped and could
have stopped the attack without risking
his own safety, yet chose to do nothing.
''If Walker were a passerby who ignored a
stranger in peril, this would be an easy
case,'' wrote Appeals Court Judge Michael
Boudin, noting that under American law
there is no duty to come to the aid of
someone in trouble.
But Boudin wrote, ''The common law duties
of a property owner toward a guest
generally include an obligation to take
reasonable care to provide a safe
premises, including warnings to the guest
as to dangers of which the host knows or
should know.''
The woman said she dated Walker several
times, then after socializing with Walker,
his two roommates, and two former
teammates - Ronald Mercer and Chauncey
Billups - at a Boston comedy club on Nov.
9, 1997, the men invited her back to
Walker's home.
After arriving at the Waltham condominium,
the woman said, she was raped by Mercer,
Billups, and Walker's roommate, Michael
Irvin. A medical examination performed at
Boston Medical Center the next day
revealed bruises on the woman's body and
injuries to her throat, cervix, and
rectum, according to the Appeals Court
decision.
The woman said Walker walked in on the
alleged attack in Irvin's bedroom, and
Irvin asked Walker, ''Don't you want
some?'' The woman said Walker declined and
left.
No criminal charges were filed. The woman
filed her civil lawsuit under seal in
April 1998 against Mercer and Billups, who
currently play for the Denver Nuggets,
Irvin and Walker. US District Judge
Richard G. Stearns dismissed the claim
against Walker in December.
Attorney Nicholas C. Theodorou of Foley,
Hoag & Eliot, who represents Walker, said,
''The allegations against Antoine are
without merit. Although disappointed in
the court's ruling, Antoine Walker is
prepared to vigorously defend this case.
Mere allegations have been made, and we
are confident that as the evidence
develops Antoine will prevail.''
Attorney Margaret Burnham of Burnham &
Hines, who represents the woman who filed
the lawsuit, said, ''I think she'll be
gratified that she will have an
opportunity to have her day in court with
respect to Mr. Walker.''
Burnham added, ''A host is not in the same
position as a bystander on the street who
observes a crime. If the host is in a
position to observe criminal conduct and
to take measures to prevent it, then the
host has a duty to act.''
Boudin sent the case back to Stearns for
more hearings, noting, ''The legal issue
presented is one that has important social
and moral implications, and we decline to
decide it without more facts.''
This story ran on page B02 of the Boston
Globe on 10/06/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Metro | Region]
[ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print
version | Add to Daily User ]
Renewed suit: Walker failed to stop rape
By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff, 10/06/99
[Image]federal appeals court has
reinstated a lawsuit that was
filed against Boston Celtics forward
Antoine Walker by a woman who alleges he
was negligent for failing to stop three
friends from raping her inside his Waltham
home two years ago.
The claim against Walker by an
unidentified woman had been dismissed last
year by a federal judge who concluded
Walker had no duty under Massachusetts law
to stop the alleged gang rape.
But in a ruling handed down Monday, the US
Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
said state law isn't clear about a host's
legal duty to protect guests in his home
and the lower court needed to gather more
facts before deciding the fate of the case
against Walker.
The Appeals Court said the judge must find
out whether there is evidence that Walker
knew the woman was being raped and could
have stopped the attack without risking
his own safety, yet chose to do nothing.
''If Walker were a passerby who ignored a
stranger in peril, this would be an easy
case,'' wrote Appeals Court Judge Michael
Boudin, noting that under American law
there is no duty to come to the aid of
someone in trouble.
But Boudin wrote, ''The common law duties
of a property owner toward a guest
generally include an obligation to take
reasonable care to provide a safe
premises, including warnings to the guest
as to dangers of which the host knows or
should know.''
The woman said she dated Walker several
times, then after socializing with Walker,
his two roommates, and two former
teammates - Ronald Mercer and Chauncey
Billups - at a Boston comedy club on Nov.
9, 1997, the men invited her back to
Walker's home.
After arriving at the Waltham condominium,
the woman said, she was raped by Mercer,
Billups, and Walker's roommate, Michael
Irvin. A medical examination performed at
Boston Medical Center the next day
revealed bruises on the woman's body and
injuries to her throat, cervix, and
rectum, according to the Appeals Court
decision.
The woman said Walker walked in on the
alleged attack in Irvin's bedroom, and
Irvin asked Walker, ''Don't you want
some?'' The woman said Walker declined and
left.
No criminal charges were filed. The woman
filed her civil lawsuit under seal in
April 1998 against Mercer and Billups, who
currently play for the Denver Nuggets,
Irvin and Walker. US District Judge
Richard G. Stearns dismissed the claim
against Walker in December.
Attorney Nicholas C. Theodorou of Foley,
Hoag & Eliot, who represents Walker, said,
''The allegations against Antoine are
without merit. Although disappointed in
the court's ruling, Antoine Walker is
prepared to vigorously defend this case.
Mere allegations have been made, and we
are confident that as the evidence
develops Antoine will prevail.''
Attorney Margaret Burnham of Burnham &
Hines, who represents the woman who filed
the lawsuit, said, ''I think she'll be
gratified that she will have an
opportunity to have her day in court with
respect to Mr. Walker.''
Burnham added, ''A host is not in the same
position as a bystander on the street who
observes a crime. If the host is in a
position to observe criminal conduct and
to take measures to prevent it, then the
host has a duty to act.''
Boudin sent the case back to Stearns for
more hearings, noting, ''The legal issue
presented is one that has important social
and moral implications, and we decline to
decide it without more facts.''
This story ran on page B02 of the Boston
Globe on 10/06/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
[ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print
version | Add to Daily User ]