90
C
ASE: 12
BACKGROUND
· The Plainti s, Raymond Volpe and Joyce Almonte, accused their neighbor, the Defendant, Mrs.
Sara Gallagher, of negligence by failing to inspect the bedroom of her son, James Gallagher.
They alleged that Mrs. Gallagher, as the owner of property, had a duty to inspect the premises for
dangerous conditions.
· James Andrew Gallagher, a mentally ill 34-year-old adult and an occupant at the Defendant's
home, kept guns and ammunition in the Defendant's home and used these rearms to shoot
and kill his next-door neighbor, Ronald Volpe, for no apparent reason.
· Mrs. Gallagher asserts that she did not know that her son kept guns or ammunition on her
property; and even if she did know, she could not have known that her son would use them to
murder her next door neighbor, as he had no history of violence prior to this tragedy.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
Volpe v. Gallagher
Landowner's Duty of Care to Control Actions of
a Person on His/Her Property
What is a landowner's duty of care for
criminal acts of third persons?
A landowner has no duty to protect another
from intentional criminal acts of third parties
that take place on his/her property or the
public way.
What is an exception to the
landowner's duty of care for criminal
acts of third persons?
Landowners have a duty to prevent third
persons that they permit to use their property
from intentionally harming or creating an
unreasonable risk of bodily harm to others--
where the landowner has the ability to control
the third person and knows, or should know,
of the need to exercise such control.
What is the landowner's duty to
inspect property?
A possessor of land has a duty to inspect the
premises for dangerous conditions.