Policy Bases for No Duty & Duties of Landowners & Occupiers
Some logistics
Makeup Class: Tuesday, November 28 from 8:15am-9:30am in this classroom.
No office hours today
Additional office hours on Tuesdays: Tuesday, November 14 from 12pm to 1pm Tuesday, November 21 from 12pm to 1pm Tuesday, November 28 from 12pm to 1pm
Strauss v. Belle Realty
Third Restatement
When determining that no legal duty exists for reasons of public policy, courts should use “categorical, bright-line rules of law applicable to a general class of cases.”
Two Closing Thoughts
- Crushing liability has not aged well.
- Policy justifications ≠ individual autonomy concerns
Reynolds v. Hicks
Negligence Per Se
Remember Martin v. Herzog?
Negligence Per Se
Under RCW 66.44.270(1) it is a crime to:
give or otherwise supply liquor to any person under the age of twenty-one years or permit any person under that age to consume liquor on his or her premises or on any premises under his or her control.
What the heck?
Two Reasons
- Legal
- Policy
Landowners & Occupiers
Carter v. Kinney
Traditional View
| Type of Visitor | Definition |
|---|---|
| ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? |
Traditional View
| Type of Visitor | Definition |
|---|---|
| Trespasser | ??? |
| Licensee | ??? |
| Invitee | ??? |
Traditional View
| Type of Visitor | Definition |
|---|---|
| Trespasser | Intruder |
| Licensee | Social guest |
| Invitee | Business guest or general public (if land opened to public) |
Duties Owed — Traditional View
Trespasser
- duty not to intentionally or wantonly cause injury
- no duty of reasonable care (with handful of exceptions)
Licensee
- no duty to inspect or discover dangerous conditions
- duty to warn or make known conditions safe
Invitee
- duty to inspect and discover dangerous conditions
- duty to warn or make conditions safe
Heins v. Webster County
Modern View
| Type of Visitor | Definition |
|---|---|
| ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? |
Modern View
| Type of Visitor | Definition |
|---|---|
| Trespasser | Intruder |
| Everybody else | Not a trespasser |
Duties Owed — Modern View
Trespasser1
- duty not to intentionally or wantonly cause injury
- no duty of reasonable care (with handful of exceptions)
Everybody Else
- duty of reasonable care
Traditional View
vs.
Modern View
Two exercises for Tuesday
Both on Scratchpad on course website
Both really fun puzzles
Or in California and the Third Restatement, a “flagrant” trespasser rather than just a plain old trespasser ↩︎