Opinion ID: 2100176
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Nebraska's Framework for Premises Liability and Appellants' Claim Against Meeske Land & Cattle

Text: Within Nebraska's framework for premises liability, there are generally three categories of duties that a possessor of land owes to those lawfully on the premises. First, the possessor must take reasonable steps to protect the lawful entrant from conditions on the land. See, e.g., Aguallo v. City of Scottsbluff, 267 Neb. 801, 678 N.W.2d 82 (2004); Herrera v. Fleming Cos., 265 Neb. 118, 655 N.W.2d 378 (2003). Second, the possessor must take reasonable steps to protect the lawful entrant from the possessor's dangerous activities. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 341 A (1965). Finally, the possessor must take reasonable steps to protect the lawful entrant from accidental, negligent, and intentional harmful acts of third parties if those acts are foreseeable. See, e.g., Sharkey v. Board of Regents, 260 Neb. 166, 615 N.W.2d 889 (2000); Knoll v. Board of Regents, 258 Neb. 1, 601 N.W.2d 757 (1999). While the lower courts recognized that the appellants' claim against Meeske Land & Cattle was based upon premises liability, they had difficulty determining into which category the claim falls. Portions of the trial court's order, the Court of Appeals' opinion, and Meeske Land & Cattle's brief appear to treat the case as one involving a condition on the land. We, however, disagree with this categorization of the appellants' claim against Meeske Land & Cattle. [3] The issues in a case are framed by the pleadings. Rush v. Wilder, 263 Neb. 910, 644 N.W.2d 151 (2002). Summarized, the appellants' claim against Meeske Land & Cattle consists of the following allegations: (1) Meeske Land & Cattle was a possessor of the land on which the accident occurred; (2) ATV's are too dangerous for children Ashley's age to drive, especially when driven without proper safety gear; (3) Lloyd acted negligently in allowing Ashley to drive the ATV; (4) Henry and Pauline (a) were actually aware that Ashley was driving the ATV when the accident occurred, and/or (b) knew that in the past, Lloyd had allowed children to drive the ATV; and (5) either because of their knowledge that Ashley was driving the ATV when the accident occurred or because of their knowledge that Lloyd had allowed children to drive the ATV in the past, Henry and Pauline, as officers of Meeske Land & Cattle, should have exercised reasonable care to prevent Lloyd from allowing Ashley to drive the ATV. When the allegations are crystallized, the focus is on whether Meeske Land & Cattle, as a possessor of the land on which the accident occurred, should have protected Ashley from Lloyd's decision to allow her to drive the ATV. Thus, we interpret the appellants' claim as one based upon the duty of a possessor of land to protect a lawful entrant from the harmful negligent behavior of a third party.