Negligence - Std. of Care for Specific Classes of Defendants Flashcards
Common Carriers & Innkeepers
Common Law - Both held to the highest duty of care consistent w/ the practical operation of the bus.
- Can be held liable for slight negligence
Majority - Common carriers held to high std. but innkeepers liable only for ord. neg.
Third Rest. Approach - both must exercise reas. care toward their passengers and guests
- Duty based on the special rel.
Auto Drivers
Majority - Owe ord. care to guests and passengers (those who get econ. ben. for the ride)
Minority
- Guest statutes distinguish the two
- Impose duty to refrain from gross or wonton misconduct with a guest in the car
What is a Bailment ?
A person (bailee) temp. takes poss. of another’s (bailor’s) personal prop.
Bailors Standard of Care
Gratuitous bailee - Duty to inform only of known dangerous defects in personal prop.
Bailee for Hire - Duty to inform of defects that are known or should have been known by bailor had he used reas. diligence
Bailee’s Duty
If bailor gets the sole benefit from the bailment
- bailee has lesser duty to care for the prop
- Liable only if he has been grossly negligent
If bailee gets the sole benefit from the bailment
- Must exercise extraordinary care for bailor’s prop.
- liable for slight negligence
Mutual Benefit Bailment - reasonable care
Emergency Situations - Standard of Care
Reasonable Person in the same situation
- Less may be expected of reas. prud. pers.
- Only if Defendant’s conduct didn’t cause the emergency
Who is a trespasser?
One who enters or remains on the land of another without consent or privileg to do so
- Doesn’t matter how they got on the land
- Mistake doesn’t change their status
Trespassers - Traditional Approach
Landowner is oblig. to refrain from willful, wanton, reckless or intentional misconduct towards the trespasser
Can land owner use deadly force against a trespasser?
No not directly or indirectly
- Can’t use spring guns or traps
- Will lead to liab. for the land possessor
- Can’t do indirectly what he would be forbidden to do directly
Trespassers - Traditional Approach
Discovered Trespassers
Must warn or protect them from concealed, dangerous, artificial conditions
- No duty to warn of natural cond.
- No duty to warn of artificial cond. that don’t involve risk of death or serious bodily harm
Trespassers - Traditional Approach
Undiscovered Trespassers
Who is an Invitee?
- Business Visitor OR
- Invited on land to for purp. of bus. dealing with the land possessor
- Public Invitee
- Any pers. in public space - place held open to pub. at large
What is the duty owed by land possessors to an invitee ?
Duty of reasonable care, including:
- reas. care to inspect the prop
- Discover unreas. dangerous conditions AND
- Protect invitee from them
Non-delegable duty - land owner still liable even if hires indep. contractor to maintain
What is the effect if an invitee stays beyond the scope of the invitation ?
Duty of reas. care owed to the invitee doesn’t extend past the scope of the invitation
- Invitee is treated as a trespasser
Invitees - Recreational land use
Some Jurisdictions
- Land possessor who opens his land to the pub. for rec. purp
- Not liab. for injuries of others
- so long as didn’t charge a fee to use his land
- Unless, he acts willfully and maliciously or gross neg. (in some juris)
Who is a Licensee?
Someone who enters the land of another with express or implied permission or with privilege, includes:
- Social Guest
- Those whose presence is tolerated by the land poss.
- e.g. children who routinely cut across his land
- Emergency Personnel
- Police, firefighters etc.
What is a landlord’s liability ?
No duty to land tenants
- Exceptions:
- Condition is in a common area (lobby)
- D negligently repairs the prop.
- LL knows of concealed conditions at the time of lease and doesn’t warn
- LL knows that tenant is going to hold the prop. open to pub. at large
What is a tenant’s liability ?
As poss. of land, tenant is liable for injuries to third parties arising from dangerous conditions w/in the tenants control
What is the duty owed to an Off-premises Victim?
Landowner doesn’t owe duty to pers. not on the prem. who is harmed by a natural condition on the landowner’s premises
- Exception - Trees in urban areas
Artificial Conditions - landowner owes duty to prevent unreas. risk of harm to pers. who aren’t on the prem.
What duty does a seller of real property owe?
Owe duty to disclose to buyers those concealed and unreas. dang. cond. known to the seller
- Cond. that buyer is unlikely to discover with reas. inspection
- Seller’s liab. cont. until buyer has reas. opp. to discover and remedy the defect
The Duty of Care Owed by a land possessor for liability depends on what ?
The status of the visitor:
- Invitees
- Licensees
- Trespassers
What is the duty owed by land possessors to a licensee ?
Land Poss. has a duty to:
- Correct or warn licensee of concealed dangers that are
- Known or should be obvious to her
- must exercise reas. care in conducting activities on the land
- NO duty to inspect for dangers
What is the key to analyzing land possessor liability?
Status of the Plaintiff in the specific area the injury occurred
- Status can change mult. times w/in same facility
If a land possessor is performing activities on their land, what duty is owed?
Duty of reasonable care is owed to any person on the land
- Except for unknown trespassers
To whom does a landowner have a duty to search out dangers on the property?
Invitees
What are the elements of an attractive Nuisance ?
A land possessor may be liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if:
- An artificial cond. exists in a place where the land possessor knows or has reason to know children are likely to trespass
- Land possessor knows or has reason to know the condition poses an unreas. risk of death or serious bodily injury to children
- Child is too young to appreciate the danger
- The utility to land poss. of maintaining the cond. & the burden of elim. the danger are slight compared to the risk of harm presented to children AND
- land poss. fails to exercise reas. care to protect children from the harm
If the doctrine of attractive nuisance applies, what duty is owed ?
Child is treated as an invitee and owed a duty of reasonable care
What is the duty of a land poss. to a plaintiff on adjacent land if an artificail condition exists on their land ?
The land possessor owes a duty of reasonable care to the plaintiff
What is the duty of a land possessor to plaintiffs on adjacent land if a natural condition exists on their land?
There is no duty
