Tina L. Womack was a dancer at Oasis Goodtime Emporium I, Inc., an adult entertainment establishment, when a customer assaulted her in a private room. She sued Oasis, contending that it breached its duty to her as an invitee to keep its premises safe, and sued John Doe for assault and false imprisonment. In response to Oasis’s motion for summary judgment, Womack asserted that the attack was foreseeable and would have been prevented if the club had complied with certain DeKalb County ordinances relating to adult entertainment clubs. The trial court granted Oasis’s motion, finding among other things no evidence that Oasis was subject to the county ordinances. Because Womack was not required to submit evidence about issues Oasis never raised, and because genuine issues of material fact exist in this case for a jury to decide, we reverse. To prevail at summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. “A defendant may do this by showing the court that the documents, affidavits, depositions and other evidence in the record reveal that there is no evidence sufficient to create a jury issue on at least one essential element of plaintiff’s case.” Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins , 261 Ga. 491 1 405 SE2d 474 1991. If the defendant points out that no evidence supports an element necessary to the plaintiff’s case, then the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to “point to specific evidence giving rise to a triable issue.” Id. But the plaintiff does not bear the burden on summary judgment of introducing evidence to support each essential element in her case unless and until the defendant points to the absence of such a element and the burden shifts. When reviewing the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment, this court conducts a de novo review of the law and the evidence, viewing the facts favorably to the respondent. Wachovia Bank v. Moody Bible Inst. of Chicago , 283 Ga. App. 488, 489 642 SE2d 118 2007.
In this case, viewed favorably toward Womack as the respondent to the summary judgment motion, the evidence shows that patron John Doe assaulted Womack in one of the club’s unmonitored private rooms. Doe, who was 6’3″ and 200 pounds, paid Womack to accompany him to a private “VIP room,” which was intended for private conversation and dancing. Doe also paid the VIP bouncer directly for the room rental, and the bouncer placed Doe and Womack in a room at the end of the hall. Another man who was Doe’s associate also hired a dancer and the couple entered the VIP room with Doe and Womack. Unlike other clubs with windows in their private rooms which were monitored by bouncers, the VIP rooms in Oasis were windowless and the doors were covered with curtains. Further, while the club had surveillance cameras on the main floor, in the dressing room, and inside and outside the front door, there were no cameras in the VIP rooms. The two dancers spent an hour and a half in the room with the two men.
