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PREMISES LIABILITY

Premises liability involves the liability of the owner of a property, or other person/entity controlling the property, to safeguard or remedy an unreasonably dangerous condition on the property when there is notice of the condition.

Notice of the condition is established when the defendant or its employees created the condition, or when the defendant or its employees actually knew of the condition (in time to provide a remedy or warning), or else when the condition existed for a sufficient length of time that the defendant/property owner or its employees, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known of the dangerous condition.

The property owner owes different duties to different types of people who come onto his or her land.  A person’s status when visiting the property is divided into three categories:

1. Invitee, which is someone who is generally a person who is on the property by the express or implied invitation for a business purpose (such as a customer in a store).

2. A licensee or guest refers to a person who is on the property by the express or implied invitation for a social purpose.  This would include someone you invite into your home as a social guest.  A higher degree of care may be owed to a child guest.

3. A trespasser refers to a person who comes on the owner’s property without actual or implied permission.  Once again, a higher degree of care may be owed to a trespassing child under the “attractive nuisance” doctrine.

The level of duty owed by a business owner to an invitee is the highest premises liability duty owed.  The duty owed by a social host to a licensee or guest is the middle-level or moderate duty.  The duty owed by a property owner to a trespasser is the lowest level of duty owed.  In all cases, a higher duty of care might be owed to a child.