Maryland Supreme Court to hear case on if student can sue Towson University over 2021 shooting

By Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief

In 2021, she was shot during a party in Freedom Square. Now, the Supreme Court of Maryland will decide if that student can sue Towson University for negligence.

Catherine Torney was one of three shooting victims at a large, unsanctioned party on campus that year, but the only Towson student injured. The square serves as a hangout space on campus, but is also a popular spot for rallies and vigils.

Torney sued the university for negligence in the 2023 shooting citing the lack of action from Towson University Police Officers that were present. She claimed that as the crowd grew increasingly unruly, the supervising officer didn’t shut down the party despite two other officers recommending so. 

However, the courts dismissed her claim because the university “did not owe Ms. Torney a duty of care,” according to court documents. Torney appealed the ruling, arguing that Maryland law did require Towson to keep its public spaces safe. Ultimately, the courts upheld the dismissal.

Three years later, the Maryland Supreme Court is taking up Torney’s case. In April, the justices will decide if she has grounds to sue the university for negligence. 

“Ms. Torney is not claiming here that the mere existence of the party in Freedom Square or events on previous days made her injuries foreseeable,” her lawyers Joseph Cammarata and Stephen Ollar wrote in court documents.

“Rather, she is claiming that the unruliness at the party—which was so severe that it caused two of the four university police officers watching to recommend that the party be shut down—made her injuries foreseeable.”

Towson University Police Department Officers were present at the party by 11:19 p.m. when the crowd had 100 people present. The DJ stopped playing music at one point to tell the crowd to calm down, and cannabis smoke was in the air while underage people drank, according to court documents. 

A little past midnight, a Towson police officer contacted the university chief of police saying the crowd had grown to 400 people.

Two officers at the party recommended their supervisor shut down the party, but the officer didn’t, according to court documents. Two hours later, the gunman opened fire.

Maryland Assistant Attorney General Jennifer A. DeRose, who is representing Towson University, wrote in court documents the university wasn’t required to assume every rowdy gathering on their property could result in a shooting.

“The radical transformation of the law that Ms. Torney urges this court to adopt would unreasonably impose liability on landowners,” DeRose wrote.

Steve Kelly, a lawyer who’s argued over liability and duty of care cases, said liability often comes down to if a landowner—in this case Towson—is responsible for a third-party’s crime, like a shooting. 

“Courts have been resistant, very resistant, to hold people liable for those acts unless there’s some kind of a duty,” Kelly said. 

Courts also factor in if there was foreseeable danger and if the landowner had the resources to prevent it. Kelly said foreseeability can often be the crux of these cases.

If the Supreme Court of Maryland sides with Torney, she’ll be able to sue Towson and have the chance to let a jury decide if and what she is owed.

Officials from the Maryland attorney general’s office and Towson both declined to comment.