Five years after shooting, SJC deals with liability of homeowner
Jun. 8—LYNNFIELD — In a pair of rulings stemming from the shooting death of a South Shore man five years ago during a house party in Lynnfield, the state's highest court has concluded that the now-former owner of the luxury home is not liable for the man's death.
But the court also found that former owner Andrew Styller violated town zoning laws by renting out the house to the host of the party in the first place.
The two rulings, authored by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kim Budd, come as Massachusetts and other states crack down on short-term rentals like the ones Styller was offering for his 5,000 square foot Lynnfield home from 2015 until 2017.
On Memorial Day weekend in 2016, Styller rented out the home to Woody Victor, who told Styller he was organizing a college reunion.
Styller and his family lived in the home but would rent it out for events like reunions, corporate meetings and retreats, and photo shoots, using online platforms. During those rental periods he and his family would go somewhere else.
But instead of a college reunion, Victor promoted an event called the "Splash Mansion Pool Party," featuring live DJs, that eventually drew more than 100 guests (including a couple of off-duty Boston police officers, according to court papers).
One of those guests was 33-year-old Keivan Heath of Randolph. At around 3 a.m. on May 29, he was shot to death on the property. His assailant has never been identified or charged.
Heath's mother filed suit against Styller and Victor, saying they were liable for her son's death.
Now-retired Salem Superior Court Judge Timothy Feeley dismissed the case against Styller, saying that there was no evidence to show that Styller owed any duty of care to Heath while the premises were in Victor's control. Styller had no way to know that there could be violence at the event, which he'd been told was a college reunion.
The SJC agreed to hear an appeal, and on Monday upheld Feeley's decision.
Because Heath's mother, Sharon Heath-Latson, "has not alleged facts demonstrating that the defendant should have foreseen the risk of harm caused by a third party to lawful visitors, she has failed to establish that the defendant had a duty to protect against such harm," the court held.
Heath-Latson and her attorneys had compared Styller's role to that of a hotel or resort owner. But the court concluded that the difference between this case and others in which a company was found liable is that the property was not under Styller's control while it was being rented to Victor.
However, Styller (who has since sold the home) violated a town zoning bylaw, the SJC decided in a separate opinion released Monday, by regularly renting out his property.
That decision upholds a Land Court judge's finding that the single-family home on Needham Road was in a part of town where its uses were restricted only to those listed in the town's zoning bylaw. The bylaw in 2015 and 2016 allowed for the operation of a "tourist home, boarding or lodging house" but only with a permit from the town, which Styller did not have.
Months after the shooting, the town passed a new bylaw explicitly banning short-term rentals in town.
Styller sold the home after the Land Court decision, but the SJC decided to take up the case anyway because it found it was a question of public importance.
Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.
