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Premises Liability - the Standard of Care in Virginia

The standard of care owed that a landowner owes to a plaintiff depends on how he is classified. In Virginia, courts generally classify plaintiffs into one of three categories: trespassers, licensees, and invitees. A trespasser is someone who unlawfully enters the property of another without the owner’s consent. A licensee is someone who lawfully enters the property of another, with the owner’s consent, for the licensee’s own convenience or benefit. For example, social guests are often considered licensees. Finally, a visitor is an invitee if there is an express or implied invitation by the premises owner. For example, if someone enters a store to shop, they have an “implied invitation” to enter the store. A customer will almost always be classified as an invitee.

An owner of premises owes to an invitee the duty to use “ordinary care” in maintaining the premises in a reasonably safe condition. This entails the obligation to have the premises in a reasonably safe condition to prevent, amount other things, slip and falls for the invitee’s visit, to remove foreign objects from its floors which it may have placed there or which it knew or should have known about.

Alternatively, a premises owner must provide an appropriate warning of to the invitee if the owner knows or should know of a hazardous condition. However, an owner does not have to remove or warn about dangerous conditions which are open and obvious.