This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

D hosted a high school graduation party for Jen at her home. A large tent and porta-john had been rented for the occasion. People were invited through word-of-mouth. P arrived at the party with a group of friends at approximately 8 p.m., when between forty and fifty guests were already there. The numbers eventually topped out at about seventy. Despite the fact that most of the guests were between the ages of seventeen and twenty, two kegs of beer were available, and many guests supplemented that supply with their own alcohol. P said in his deposition testimony that he consumed approximately six beers from the kegs. Marciano was also among the guests. P knew Marciano, and one year before the party, Marciano had punched him in the face 'for no reason.' A fight erupted between Marciano and some of P's friends. As the fight spilled onto the street, P's friends threatened to punch Marciano. P told Marciano to leave, and Marciano left but called his friend Okere, intending to return with reinforcements. Marciano supplied Okere with a baseball bat. Approximately half an hour to an hour later, Marciano returned to the party an hour and a half later with Okere, who was wielding a baseball bat and asking, 'Who f ed with Matt Marciano?' Within minutes of Okere's arrival, P was struck on the head with the bat that Okere had been holding. P did not see Okere, but he heard that there was likely going to be a fight and saw people 'scrambling.' After P was hit, D went inside her house and locked the door, excluding people who were looking for paper towels to tend to P's head injuries. P suffered considerable brain damage as a result of the injury. P sued D as well as Okere and Marciano. D moved for summary judgment, arguing that she owed plaintiff no duty to protect him from an unforeseeable attack on her property or, alternatively, that Okere's actions constituted an intervening act that broke the chain of causation between P's injuries and any negligence on her part. The court held did not have a duty to protect P because such an attack was unforeseeable. P appealed.

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