{"id":573,"date":"2015-09-11T15:06:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-11T19:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/bowditchrealestateblog\/?p=573"},"modified":"2020-07-31T13:26:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T13:26:51","slug":"landlords-duty-to-prevent-harm-tested-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/bowditchrealestateblog\/2015\/09\/11\/landlords-duty-to-prevent-harm-tested-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Landlord\u2019s Duty to Prevent Harm Tested Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Massachusetts Court of Appeals has again reviewed the issue of a landlord\u2019s duty to prevent harm. In Carine Belizaire v. Deborah A. Furr<\/a> (September 11, 2015), the court examined a landlord\u2019s liability where a victim was shot and killed at the landlord\u2019s property. The court concluded that the plaintiff, administratrix of the victim\u2019s estate, could not establish the essential elements of a negligence claim and therefore upheld the lower court\u2019s ruling for the landlord. \u00a0Read the entire\u00a0Court of Appeals opinion\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The court reiterates the general standard that \u201cFor the defendant \u2018[t]o be liable for negligent conduct, [she] must have failed to discharge a duty of care owed to the [victim], harm must have been reasonably foreseeable, and the breach or negligence must have been the proximate or legal cause of the [victim’s] injury.\u2019\u201d For landlords, there are important best practices for managing rental property that we can take from this case.<\/p>\n