by KPMLAW | Oct 17, 2015 | KPMBlog, News, Uncategorized
Written by Rachel Stewart Edited by Brian Cafritz When dealing with a restaurant or retailer’s obligations to protect invitees from fights or other violent acts, the phrase “danger zone” is more than a catchy phrase from the “Top Gun” soundtrack. New rulings have broadened the “danger zone” or “zone of imminent harm” that a business must recognize to avoid potential liability from criminal conduct. Under Maryland law, restaurants and retailers may be liable for a patron’s personal injuries caused by the criminal acts of a third party when the business is deemed to possess certain knowledge and a presumed ability to foresee the harm to their patrons. There are three recognized theories of negligence in which the courts will impose a duty on restaurants and retailers to protect customers from criminal activities: When the property owner has knowledge of prior similar incidents and has failed to eliminate conditions that contributed to the criminal activity, such as providing security personnel, lighting, locks and similar instrumentalities; When the property owner has knowledge of prior conduct of the criminal actor thereby making the criminal activity foreseeable; or When property owner has knowledge of events occurring on the premises prior to and leading up to the criminal action, which make imminent harm foreseeable. Recent rulings have looked at the third theory – whether or not imminent harm is foreseeable. The majority of Maryland’s case law dealing with the foreseeability of imminent harm test focuses on the property owner’s knowledge of events then occurring on their premises. The takeaway from these cases is that if a restaurant or retailer has reason to foresee imminent...
