Premises Liability Essay Research Paper PREMISES LIABILITYLANDOWNERS

Premises Liability Essay, Research Paper

PREMISES LIABILITY

(LANDOWNERS AND OCCUPIERS)

I. Premises Liability – Responsibility of Landlords and Tenants.

Under the common law, a landlord was not liable for injuries sustained by third persons while on leased premises. Court decisions and statutes have since overridden this no-liability rule. Landlords owe a duty of reasonable care to tenants and third parties not to negligently cause them injury. This duty is based on the foreseeability standard of ordinary negligence actions. In addition, a tenant owes a duty of reasonable care to persons who enter upon the leased premises. If a third person is injured as a result of the negligence of the tenant, he is liable in tort for damages sustained by the injured person. The liability of landlords and tenants to persons injured on their premises is referred to as premise liability. (Cheeseman, p. 1030).

II. Categories of Injured Persons

In actions based on negligence, a landowner s duty to one on his property is measured by the status of that person, namely by the circumstances under which he came or remained on the property. The injured person is classified as a trespasser, licensee or invitee. The question would be, how did he come there or what was he doing there. The person could he be a burglar, social guest, or one on the possessor s business. (Franklin Rabin Tort Law and Alternative).

A. Trespassers.

A trespasser is an individual who goes on property without the permission of the landowner or without some other right to be on the property. In this case, the entry is for the trespasser s own purpose or convenience and not for the benefit of the landowner. In that instance, the trespasser would not be protected. The possessor s only duty is to refrain from inflicting willful, wanton or intentional injuries upon a trespasser.

B. Licensee

A licensee is one who is permitted to enter upon or remain on property with the possessor s consent, express or implied. The duty of care owed to a licensee is somewhat the same as that owed to a trespasser. The possessor is to again refrain from inflicting willful, wanton or intentional injury, or maintaining a trap.

C. Invitee.

An invitee is subdivided into two categories, a public invitee and a business visitor. A public invitee is one who, as a member of the public, is invited to enter or remain on property which is held open to the public, or is invited to enter or remain on the property which is held open to the public. A business visitor is one who is invited to remain on the property for a purpose directly or indirectly connected with business dealings with the possessor of the property. The duty owed to an invitee is to use due care to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition so that invitees will not unnecessarily be exposed to danger. This includes the duty to warn the invitee of any hidden danger if the possessor is unable to maintain the property in a reasonable safe condition.

In Basso v. Miller, 40 N.Y.2d 233, 352 N.E.2d 868, 386 N.Y.S.2d 564, 1976, plaintiff sued for injuries sustained as a motorcycle passenger in defendant s large scenic park when, after dark, the motorcycle hit a series of holes in the road and overturned. Because of the differing versions of the events, the trial judge charged the jury that the plaintiff could have been found to be a trespasser who has been asked to leave; a licensee whose presence was being tolerated, or an invitee patron of the park. The judge explained to the jury that a different duty was owed to plaintiff depending on how the jury classified him.

III. Categories of Premises and Considerations

A. Landlord/Tenant.

A landowner that leases apartments and advertises security features creates a voluntary duty to provide security in a reasonable manner to his tenants. The Restatement (Second) of Torts, 323 (1965) provides the following:

One who undertakes, gratuitously or for consideration, to render services to another which he should recognize as necessary for the protection of the other person or thing, is subject to liability to the other for physical harm resulting from his failure to undertake reasonable care to perform his undertaking if: 1) his failure to exercise such care increases the risk of such harm; or 2) a harm is suffered because of the other s reliance upon the undertaking.

Landlords may also be potentially liable for injuries, which occur on land not owned, or even controlled, by them. For example, a ruling in California, a landlord was held liable for the death of a tenant s child, which took place on the busy street in front of the owner s property. Although the landlord has presented evidence that he did not own or have control over the area where the accident occurred, the higher court ruled that a landowner s duty of care to avoid exposing others to a risk of injury is not limited to injuries that occur on premises owned or controlled by the landowner. Rather, the duty of care encompasses a duty to avoid exposing persons to risks of injury that occur off-site if the landowner s property is maintained in such a matter as to expose persons to an unreasonable risk of injury off-site. The issue of who has control over property where accidents occur has been removed by this and similar rulings. It no longer matters

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