#8860 - Owners And Occupiers Of Land - Tort Law

Owners and Occupiers of Land

1. Duties Owed To Entrants on The Land

1. Duties Owed to Trespassers

No permission to be there.

Once known to be there, must merely warn of hidden dangers and conduct activities reasonably.

2. Duties Owed to Licensees

Basically same duty as to Trespassers.

Licensees are persons who are on land with consent of owner but there for their own purpose. (social guest, leaflet distributors, solicitors of charities).

3. Duties Owed to Invitees

Duty to Inspect and Repair (full duty of reasonable care)

Invitees are people invited to come on land for business dealings of possessor. Also persons who come on land as member of public since land held open to public but not for profit.

It is the Court’s job, not jury, to determine the status of the entrant.

4. Rejection of the Categories

Some courts have abolished the categories of entrants to determine the duties of possessors of land in favor of an across the board duty of reasonable care. But status matters just not set out explicitly.

5. Duty to Children Trespassers on Land

Liability for physical harm to child trespasser when is artificial condition:

1. Place where condition exists is one upon which the possessor knows or should know that kids are likely trespass (mounds of dirt)

2. Condition is one which possessor should know or does know will involve unreasonable risk of death or serious harm to such kids

3. The kids cause of their youth do no discover and can appreciate the risk involved with intermeddling with or coming in contact with that area (cave in of dirt mounds)

4. The utility of having the condition and burden of eliminating is are slight as compared w/ the risk to the kids involved and

5. Possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eliminate danger or otherwise protect kids.

2. Special Rules Limiting Liability

1. The Firefighter’s Rule

Generally Firefighters and other public servants (police, med workers, animal control) cannot recover for harm suffered to negligence which brought them in first place.

Some jurisdictions to don’t use this rule at all. Some allow recovery for negligence outside the risk assumed by position (shot while fighting fire).

2. Recreational Use Statutes

When private landowners open up prop to public (free of charge) for recreational use, most state have statutes that partially immunize owner for accidents that take place on prop.

Can be for all kinds activity (hunting, hiking, spelunking)

Not immunized from willful wanton or malicious conduct.

3. Duties Owed to Those Outside the Premises

Liable for artificial conditions on land that cause injury to people off the land (badly constructed gutters let water run off land, it freezes and someone fall, then liable)

Not liable for natural conditions on land that causes harm off land (snow on land melts and runs off land, freezes and someone slips, not liable)

...