Facts
- A 12-year-old child trespassed onto defendants’ lot around 8 p.m., when it was getting dark, to play hide-and-seek with other children.
- Defendants stored prefabricated building panels containing glass windows on the lot about 120–150 feet from the street.
- The panels (about 200 pounds each) were stacked in firm, orderly piles approximately 24–30 inches high, about 8 feet long, and at least 4 feet wide.
- While chasing a playmate, the child attempted to jump over a stack, failed to clear it, landed on top, and her foot broke through the glass, cutting her ankle.
- There was testimony that at least some stacks were uncovered and that the windows were visible.
- During working hours, defendants (working nearby) ordered children off the lot; in their absence, a nearby resident also ordered children away on defendants’ behalf.
- After a court trial, the trial court entered judgment for plaintiff; defendants appealed, arguing the evidence did not support liability.
Issues
- Whether the evidence supported imposing liability on landowners for injuries to a child trespasser under Restatement (First) of Torts § 339 governing artificial conditions dangerous to trespassing children.
- Whether securely stacked, visible prefabricated panels with glass windows constituted an artificial condition involving an “unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm” to a child of plaintiff’s age.
- Whether a child nearly 13 years old failed, because of youth, to discover the condition or realize the risk of injury from running and jumping onto or over the stacks.
Decision
- The Supreme Court of California reversed the judgment for plaintiff.
- The court held the evidence did not establish the § 339 elements needed for liability to a child trespasser.
- The stacked panels, as maintained, did not create an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm within § 339(b).
- The danger from glass was open and apparent, and a child of plaintiff’s age should have appreciated the risk, defeating § 339(c).
- The ordinary utility of storing building materials in a conventional manner outweighed the risk presented on these facts under § 339(d).
Legal Principles
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A land possessor’s liability to child trespassers for harm from artificial conditions requires proof of each element of Restatement (First) of Torts § 339, including:
- likely child trespass (§ 339(a));
- an artificial condition creating an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily harm (§ 339(b));
- the child’s failure, due to youth, to discover or appreciate the risk (§ 339(c)); and
- slight utility of maintaining the condition compared to the risk (§ 339(d)).
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Ordinary construction materials stored securely in a customary manner do not become an “unreasonable risk” solely because children may misuse them while trespassing.
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When the condition and its danger are visible and readily appreciable to a child of the plaintiff’s age, § 339(c) is not satisfied.
Conclusion
The court held that securely stacked, visible glass-window panels on a construction lot did not present the type of unreasonable, nonobvious danger required for liability to a trespassing child under Restatement § 339, and it reversed the judgment for the injured child.