General Premises Liability

Civil Code Section 1714(a) generally covers liability to Persons on Premises. the liability of a possessor of land is generally directed by an ordinary negligence standard. Here, a person is responsible for an injury to another caused by his or her willful act or want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property.

According to the California Supreme Court, it is advised to depart from the fundamental principle that a possessor is liable for injury caused by his or her failure to exercise ordinary care in the management of his or her property only when there are clear public policy reasons for doing so. When determining a divergence to be made available the court must weigh multiple factors in the process.

The court will look at the (1) the forseeability of harm to the plaintiff, (2) the degree of certainty that the plaintiff suffered injury, (3) the closeness of the connection between the defendant's conduct and the injury suffered, (4) the moral blame attached to the defendant's conduct, (5) the policy of preventing future harm, (6) the extent of the burden to the defendant and consequences to the community of imposing a duty to exercise care with resulting liability for breach, and (7) the availability, cost, and prevalence of insurance for the risk involved.

Duty of care is to be determined by the court since the inquiry is a question of law. Conversely, the forseeability issue is a question of fact that is usually determined by a jury. In addition the court will apply the standard of care to be whether or not in the management of a person's property he or she has acted as a reasonable person in view of the probability of injury to others.

Even though the majority of Premises liability cases are governed by negligence, some California cases have held strict liability may apply as well in cases regarding landlords. For example, a landlord engaged in the business of leasing dwellings may be strictly liable in tort for injuries resulting from a latent defect in the premises if the defect existed at the time the dwelling was let to the tenant. In addition a cause of action for nuisance may also be applicable in cases.

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