## Facts

- Clarence E. Van Natta operated a grocery in a converted house with a front customer area and a rear storage room separated by a wall and doorway.
- On March 20, 1961, Thomas A. Whelan, a regular customer, bought cigarettes in the front area.
- After the purchase, Whelan asked about obtaining a box for personal use, and Van Natta told him to go into the back room to find one.
- The storage room was dark when Whelan entered; he paused for his eyes to adjust, did not look for a light cord, and did not turn on any light.
- Whelan walked deeper into the room toward a window and fell into an open, unseen stairwell located beyond a large walk-in refrigerator, with the opening extending into the corridor past the refrigerator.
- Whelan testified he had never been in the storage room before; Van Natta testified Whelan had been there on prior occasions.
- Van Natta did not warn Whelan about the stairwell and could not say whether the storage-room light was on at the time of the fall.

## Issues

1. Whether Whelan remained an invitee when he entered the storage room to look for a box, or instead became a licensee.
2. Whether Whelan was contributorily negligent as a matter of law by proceeding through a dark, unfamiliar storage room without turning on available lighting or otherwise taking precautions.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of Kentucky affirmed judgment for Van Natta.
- The court held that Whelan’s status changed from invitee (in the customer area for a purchase) to licensee (in the storage room for a personal purpose outside the business invitation’s scope).
- The court held Whelan was contributorily negligent as a matter of law by voluntarily proceeding in darkness without using available light or taking reasonable precautions, which independently barred recovery under then-applicable Kentucky law.

## Legal Principles

- Invitee status is limited to the area of invitation and the purpose for which the entrant is on the premises; entering a nonpublic area for a personal objective can terminate invitee status.
- A possessor’s duty to a licensee is limited; absent willful or intentional harm, liability generally requires knowingly permitting the licensee to encounter a hidden peril.
- A person who voluntarily proceeds in darkness without ordinary precautions may be found contributorily negligent as a matter of law, precluding recovery where contributory negligence is a complete defense.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed a defense judgment because the plaintiff exceeded the scope of the store’s business invitation by entering a dark storage area for a personal errand, making him a licensee, and because his decision to proceed through darkness without using available lighting constituted contributory negligence that barred recovery.


Whelan v. Van Natta, 382 S.W.2d 205 (Ky. Ct. App. 1964)