Jacobson v. Kinsmen Club of Nanaimo (1976)

At a "Beer Garden" held in a curling rink by the Kinsmen Club attended by approximately 2000 people, a patron decided to "entertain" the crowd. He climbed to an I-beam supporting the roof and dropped his pants while hanging from the beam. A little while later he and a friend repeated the performance. Nothing untoward happened and the crowd seemed to enjoy the "show".

Another guest then attempted the same act, unfortunately not as successfully. He fell 30 feet and landed on another guest who was injured. The court made some interesting comments. It stated that, had the first guest fallen, the court would not have held the Kinsmen Club liable. "Who could foresee that someone would attempt this activity, and how could they have effectively intervened." However, after the first event it was foreseeable, and what did the Club do to prevent a reoccurrence? Nothing.

After the second occurrence, the event was not only foreseeable, it was an ongoing activity. By this time, the Kinsmen should have intervened, warned the patrons that this activity would not be tolerated, and even posted members by the I-beam pillars to prevent anyone climbing. The Kinsmen did none of these things and by failing to take more effective measures to prevent a recurrence, the Club breached its duty and was found to be liable.

1. What are the relevant facts of the case?

2. What are the relevant issues of the case (in question form)? 3. What was the decision of the court and their reasoning?

4. What is your conclusion (opinion) of the outcome of the case?