Connolly v. Nicollet Hotel

The Nicollet Hotel (defendant) hosted a large convention where attendees drank heavily, and hotel staff had observed accumulating debris on a fire escape and received reports of water bags being thrown from the building; passerby Marcella Connolly (plaintiff) was struck in the eye by a mud-like substance thrown or falling from the hotel area, ultimately becoming blind in that eye. A jury awarded Connolly $30,000, but the trial court granted the hotel judgment notwithstanding the verdict, finding no evidence the substance came from the hotel.