Case against Sportsman's Inn tossed

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- The Rhode Island Supreme Court has thrown out -- vacated, to be precise -- a preliminary injunction stopping the owners of the Sportsman's Inn strip club and hotel on Fountain Street in Providence from selling or transferring the property.

Gilberto Vasquez had sued after getting shot outside the establishment on Nov. 11, 2006, alleging he'd been shot as a result of the Sportsman's Inn and its owners, DLM Realty LLC and DLM Inc. failing to provide adequate security at the business.

During testimony, the president of Sportsman's Inn, Inc., testified that while there were no security personnel outside the establishment, three bouncers were generally on duty inside. On the night of the shooting, only one manager and one bouncer were on duty.

The Court's decision said the record doesn't show Sportsman's Inn breached any duty to Vasquez -- or, indeed, had anything to do with the shooting. In referring to prior courts' decisions, the court held "that the trial justice abused his discrtion and clearly was wrong when he found that Vasquez had shown a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits in his claim" against the Sportsman's Inn entities.