Premises Liability Quick Notes

Five key ideas:

1. Claims for carelessness in maintaining premises that cause harms are treated as a distinct class for duty purposes.

2. The status of the person on the land in relation to their particular right to be on the property is a key inquiry.

StatusCharacteristicsDuty owed by possessor for premises

Invitee On premises for material benefit or institutional goals of the possessorA reasonably safe premises for ordinary use

Licensee On premises with consent but not for the material or institutional benefit of the possessorWarn or disclose non-obvious dangerous conditions of which they are or should be aware

TrespasserOn premises without consentFor adult trespassers: Refrain from intentional or willful injury (absent self-defense privilege)

3. Although the distinction between invitees and licensees is hazy, the former often is under a duty to inspect the premises more often for hazards.

4. Half of the states have abandoned the licensee/invitee distinction. California has abandoned all distinctions in favor of general duty based on the likelihood that someone will be present. As a functional matter, it maps on to the status distinctions in terms of the level of duty somewhat loosely.

5. Premises liability is NOT liability for injury from RISKY ACTIVITY on the property that has nothing to do with the premises, itself.