Liability of Event Manager for Malicious Damages by Third Persons

Is an event manager liable for damages to guests that happen because some unknown person had to meddle with the equipment and break it? Well, the OLG Hamm told us more on November 09, 2007 (9 U 120/07).

Around 10 p.m. on Februar 22, 2005, the light equipment hanging from the ceiling of party tent, crashed into the audience and hurt several persons during the concert. During the later criminal investigations, the prosecuting office noticed that the cross beams had been tampered with by an unknown person. The plaintiff is the company, who set up the tent on behalf of the event manager and sold, by own account, beverages. This person is suing the manager for the loss in profits because the manager did not ensure the safety of the audience and that caused a decline in the sold beverages.

The OLG Hamm dismissed the case. The manager cannot be held liable for unforeseeable defects. It is without question that tent had to be kept so safe with reasonable means. Interactions of third parties are always possible but it is unreasonable to address every possible (however unlikely) issue when making premises safe.

This is especially true in this case as the tampering required the collaboration of two persons to loosen the lighting equipment.