MBE Rules · Torts

Landowner duties — invitee, licensee, trespasser

The rule

At common law a land possessor's duty turns on the entrant's status. To an INVITEE (business visitor or public invitee) the possessor owes reasonable care, including a duty to inspect for and warn or make safe non-obvious dangers. To a LICENSEE (social guest, permitted entrant) the possessor owes only a duty to warn of known dangers not obvious to the licensee and to refrain from wilful/wanton harm. To an undiscovered TRESPASSER the possessor owes only a duty to refrain from wilful, wanton, or reckless harm; to a discovered or anticipated trespasser the possessor must warn of known, concealed, artificial dangers likely to cause serious harm.

In plain English

The classic tripartite scheme. Invitees get the most protection (inspection duty), licensees get warnings of known hazards, and trespassers essentially get only protection from intentional traps. A growing minority (Rowland v. Christian) has collapsed the categories into a single reasonable-care standard.

Memory hook

Invitee → Inspect. Licensee → let them know. Trespasser → no traps.

The trap

Firefighters and police entering under legal authority are licensees, not invitees, in most jurisdictions. Also: an invitee exceeding the scope of the invitation may become a licensee or trespasser.

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