Criminal Acts of Third Parties

Criminals are not usually employees of commercial tenants or property owners. Assaults and robberies occurring in places of business or apartment complexes are often unknown. If they are known, victims rarely are able to recover damages from them because they are not known, have escaped prosecution, or do not have the means of repayment. Victims often turn to property owners or landlords for compensation. If the owner was found to fail in providing protection, such as not replacing burned out lights or providing sufficient security, there is a possibility they are liable, even if they had no control over the assailant.

Anticipation of Criminal Acts

It is impossible to predict every criminal attack. Owners and landlords are not able to insure invitees or others from every possible criminal act, yet there are precautions that owners and landlords may us to discourage criminals. Ordinary care must be taken to provide protection from harm. Previous criminal acts on an owner or landlord's property provide insight to find ways of preventing similar crimes. The courts examine these prior criminal activities to establish the predictability of the criminal act causing the current suit they are reviewing. If this act is significantly similar to previous criminal acts on the owner or landlord's property, and a reasonable security measure could have been in force to prevent the risk of reoccurrence was not acted upon, there is a high possibility the owner or landlord may be liable for damages.

Failure to Act
Knowing of the presence of possible danger and failing to remove the threat, may indicate the owner or landlord is liable. Threats of these types include intoxicated or drug influenced persons, someone causing a public disturbance by relaying threats, and allowing previous offenders to return to the property. If there is a history of tenant aggression and the tenant has not been evicted, or other action has been taken to remove the threat, an owner may be liable for that tenant's assault. Owners are not responsible for knowing that a tenant is frequently mean, verbally abusing a spouse or children, as this may not indicate a violent nature of the tenant. If the owner or landlord employs security guards, they may be liable if the security officers fail to reasonably execute their duties.

No Liability Situations
Taking personal risk by putting oneself in danger relieves owners of liability. Knowingly sitting alone outside in a known high crime area, engaging in physical altercations (such as in parks or nightclubs), or being injured by someone you know are examples of this. Employees may not seek compensation if they are the victim of an attack from someone they know, as the act was not random, nor related to employment. Other unpredictable events, such as drive-by shootings, are not cases where owners or landlords are held liable.

DISCLAIMER: The information you obtain at our firm web site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. It is recommended that you should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.