Tim Crawley secures summary judgment in premises liability case

Tim Crawley recently secured summary judgment in favor of a retail business client in a premises liability lawsuit where the Plaintiff alleged “inadequate security” failed to prevent a third-party criminal assault.

The Plaintiff claimed the business failed to provide adequate security and was therefore responsible for the injuries he sustained after an alleged altercation with another individual escalated into a shooting. In essence, the Plaintiff argued that the business lacked security at its premises that was sufficient to protect him from a reasonably foreseeable criminal attack by a third-party. The Defendant moved for summary judgment, relying on several key facts as well as the application of Mississippi’s “Landowners Protection Act,” which limits a property owner’s liability for criminal acts committed by third parties.

In 2019, the Mississippi Legislature enacted the Mississippi’s Landowners Protection Act (the “LPA”) (Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-66.1) which significantly changed premises liability law in Mississippi. Under the LPA, owners, lessors, operators, and managers of commercial property in Mississippi are generally immune from civil liability for injuries caused by a third party’s intentional criminal acts, including assault or battery, with the only exception being where the property owner actively and affirmatively set those actions in motion through conscious decision-making. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-66.1(1)(b). The LPA also reduced the potential by which a landowner will be deemed to have had constructive notice of the potential for a third-party’s criminal or tortious actions by significantly narrowing the definition of an “atmosphere of violence.” Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-66.1(3).  

In its ruling, the Court found no genuine issue of material fact and concluded that the statutory requirements for imposing liability under the Act were not met. In doing so, the Court rejected the Plaintiff’s attempt to impose liability based on generalized allegations of inadequate security, emphasizing that Mississippi law does not treat property owners as insurers of public safety. Importantly, the Court specifically noted that the LPA bars liability absent proof that a landowner impelled the criminal conduct of a third party—evidence that was not present in this case.

This decision reinforces the strong protections afforded to Mississippi businesses and property owners facing claims based on unforeseeable criminal acts of third parties, particularly where reasonable security measures are taken and law enforcement is promptly involved.

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