In the
law of
tort
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishab ...
s, an invitee is a person who is invited to land by the possessor of the land as a member of the public or one who enters the land of another for the purpose of business dealings with the possessor of the land. The status of a visitor as an invitee (as opposed to a
trespasser
In the law of tort, property, and criminal law a trespasser is a person who commits the act of trespassing on a property, that is, without the permission of the owner. Being present on land as a trespasser thereto creates liability in the ...
or a
licensee
A licensee can mean the holder of a license or, in U.S. tort law, a licensee is a person who is on the property of another, despite the fact that the property is not open to the general public, because the owner of the property has allowed the li ...
) defines the legal rights of the visitor if they are injured due to the
negligence
Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as ...
of the property owner.
There are generally two types of invitees:.
* Business Invitee is a person who enters business property to do business with the land occupier.
* Public Invitee is a person who enters land in the possession of another for the purpose for which the property is held open to the public, even if no business purpose is involved.
Even if "invited" onto somebody's premises, a social guest is classified as a licensee.
The property owner has a duty to make the property safe for the invitee, which includes conducting a reasonable inspection of the premises to uncover hidden dangers. The property owner also has a
duty to warn
A duty to warn is a concept that arises in the law of torts in a number of circumstances, indicating that a party will be held liable for injuries caused to another, where the party had the opportunity to warn the other of a hazard and failed t ...
the invitee of hazardous conditions that cannot be fixed. Furthermore, property owners assume a
duty to rescue
A duty to rescue is a concept in tort law that arises in a number of cases, describing a circumstance in which a party can be held liable for failing to come to the rescue of another party who could face potential injury or death without being r ...
an invitee who falls into peril while visiting the property. If an
independent contractor
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any ...
hired by the landowner injures an invitee (intentionally or through negligence), the owner can be held
vicariously liable. This represents the broadest
duty of care
In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be establ ...
owed to any class of visitors to the property.
United States
An invitee is only an invitee within the scope of permission granted by the landowner. Thus, if an invitee is invited to do business in a store and is injured snooping around in the private storage area, he does not have invitee status in that area. So if the invitee is snooping around in the dark, trips and falls on something, the land occupier is not liable since the snooper exceeded the consent given him/her (''Whelan v. Van Natta'').
In California, the case of ''
Rowland v. Christian'' sought to eliminate the distinction between business invitee and licensee in regard to a land occupier owing a duty to act as a "reasonable man" in rendering the property safe for others.
See also
*
Buffer Theory
References
{{reflist
Tort law