Duty of Care for Landowners Quiz

Duty of Care for Landowners

• Outside Premises: No duty for injuries from natural hazards, EXCEPT for trees. There is a duty for artificial conditions creating risks to others.

Duty of Care for Landowners (On Premises)

• Relationship dependent: The degree of care depends on the relationship between the landowner and the person on the land.

• Trespassers: Generally, no duty to make the land safe or warn of dangers. A duty exists to avoid willful and wanton harm and reasonable care after the property owner becomes aware of the trespasser. Frequent trespassers create a duty of making grounds reasonably safe. Tolerated intruders become licensees.

• Licensees: Permitted on the property, but not for the landowner's business. Only a duty to warn of known dangers, newer cases may require an affirmative duty to know latent dangerous conditions and avoid causing harm actively. Social guests are licensees.

• Invitees: Invited for business or as members of the public. The landowner has a duty to reasonably inspect and make premises safe. This includes a duty to remedy or warn about hidden dangers. Some jurisdictions don't require a duty to eliminate open-and-obvious natural hazards. The owner has a duty to inspect reasonably. This is true even if the danger existed before the owner took possession of the land. The landowner might have control over third parties which creates a duty for reasonable care.

• Scope of Invitation (Invitees): If the invitee goes outside the business purpose or beyond publicly open spaces, the status shifts to licensee. Invitees don't require an economic benefit.

• Public invitees are those on the property for the purpose for which it is held open, even if they don't provide economic benefit to the owner.

• Landowner/Criminal Activity: Merely refusing to surrender property to criminals does not create liability for the landowner, in most jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions may find liability if the landowner takes more than passive measures that creates risk.

Duty of Care: Lessors and Lessees

• Common Law: Lessors generally have no liability to lessees or third parties.
• Key Exceptions
  • Lessor Known Hazard (Unknown to lessee): The lessor is liable for hazards known or should've known at the start of lease, if unknown to the lessee. Modern law requires the lessor to disclose dangerous conditions.
  • Hazard Impacts Outsiders: Lessors are liable for hazards that create risks to those off the property.
  • Public Use/Inspection: If the lessor anticipates public use, the lessor has a duty to inspect premises and repair dangers.
  • Common Areas: Lessors have a duty for common spaces, like hallways, to be reasonably safe.
  • Contract to Repair: If the lease specifies repairs. the lessor's failure could lead to liability for the affected party, and the party must prove that the breach affected their injuries.
  • Negligent Repairs: The landlord is liable if starting and then negligently performing or abandoning a repair.
• Additional Duty (Some Jurisdictions): Some jurisdictions hold that there's a general duty to reasonably maintain premises.

Test your knowledge on the legal duties of landowners towards trespassers, licensees, and invitees. Understand the nuances of care required based on the relationship with individuals on the property. This quiz covers both on-premises and outside situations.