Opinion ID: 2612814
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Duty To Warn Licensees of Natural Conditions

Text: [7-9] The jury found Tincani was a licensee at the time of his injury. The Restatement (Second) of Torts § 330 (1965) defines a licensee as a person who is privileged to enter or remain on land only by virtue of the possessor's consent. Younce v. Ferguson, 106 Wn.2d 658, 667, 724 P.2d 991 (1986). In Memel v. Reimer, 85 Wn.2d 685, 538 P.2d 517 (1975), we adopted the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 342 (1965) to define a landowner's responsibility to licensees for dangerous conditions on the land. That section provides: A possessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm caused to licensees by a condition on the land if, but only if, (a) the possessor knows or has reason to know of the condition and should realize that it involves an unreasonable risk of harm to such licensees, and should expect that they will not discover or realize the danger, and (b) he [or she] fails to exercise reasonable care to make the condition safe, or to warn the licensees of the condition and the risk involved, and (c) the licensees do not know or have reason to know of the condition and the risk involved. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 342 (1965), quoted in Memel, 85 Wn.2d at 689; Younce v. Ferguson, 106 Wn.2d at 667-68. The duties in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 342 turn on the respective knowledge of landowner and licensee. First, the landowner must know, or have reason to know, about a hidden danger created by a natural condition. In Memel, we described the extent of the duty arising from this knowledge. We are not requiring that the occupier either prepare a safe place, or that he [or she] affirmatively seek out and discover hidden dangers. What we do impose is a duty to exercise reasonable care where there is a known dangerous condition on the property and the occupier can reasonably anticipate that [the] licensee will not discover or realize the risks. Under these circumstances, the landowner can fulfill his [or her] duty by either making the condition safe or by warning [the] licensee of the condition and its inherent risks. Memel, 85 Wn.2d at 689. Second, the licensee must not know, or have reason to know, about the dangers presented by a natural condition. A licensee's full understanding that a natural condition is dangerous ends any liability of the landowner for the condition. [E]ven though a dangerous condition is concealed and not obvious, and the possessor has given the licensee no warning, if the licensee is in fact fully aware of the condition and the risk, there is no liability to him [or her]. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 342 cmt. 1. The jury was properly instructed regarding the Zoo's duties to Tincani as a licensee. No exception was made to the instruction. Citing Swanson v. McKain, 59 Wn. App. 303, 796 P.2d 1291 (1990), review denied, 116 Wn.2d 1007 (1991), the Zoo argues it did not owe Tincani, a licensee, any duty to warn or protect him from risks associated with the obvious, natural condition of the cliff. Swanson was injured after diving into shallow water off Camano Island in Puget Sound. Swanson sued the McKains, the owners of the home where he was staying, alleging they breached a duty to warn him of the dangers and characteristics of the tidal waters into which he dove. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's dismissal of Swanson's lawsuit on summary judgment, concluding as a matter of law that Swanson was a licensee and, as such, was owed no duty to warn of natural conditions. Swanson, at 309, 311. Relying on our decision in Ochampaugh v. Seattle, 91 Wn.2d 514, 588 P.2d 1351 (1979) the court held natural conditions constitute `obvious and apparent' dangers as a matter of law, precluding liability on the part of a possessor toward a licensee. Swanson, at 314. The rule for natural conditions, established in Ochampaugh and developed in Swanson, merely restates the duties created under § 342 of the Restatement. It is not a separate defense to liability. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 342 cmt. e (immaterial that a dangerous condition is natural rather than artificial). The open and apparent dangers from a natural condition put a licensee on notice: proceed at your own risk. A reasonable landowner may presume licensees will discover the risk and, conversely, the licensee knows or has reason to know of the dangerous natural condition, extinguishing any duty to warn on the part of the landowner. We agree with the Swanson court that a landowner has no duty to warn licensees about open and apparent dangers from a natural condition. As discussed below, a separate set of duties governs a landowner's duties to protect invitees from such dangers. However, we disagree with Swanson that natural conditions constitute open and apparent dangers as a matter of law. See Swanson, 59 Wn. App. at 314. The phrase open and apparent assumes knowledge on the part of the licensee. Whether a natural hazard is open and apparent depends on whether the licensee knew, or had reason to know, the full extent of the risk posed by the condition. That is a question of fact. [4] [10] Turning to the issues in this case, could the jury reasonably find the Zoo at fault for violating its duties to Tincani as a licensee? The trial court gave instruction 20, proposed by the Zoo, on the duty of care for dangerous natural conditions: The duty of care which an owner or occupier of premises owes to a business invitee, licensee or trespasser does not require the owner or occupier to warn of, prevent access to or make safe a natural condition, the danger of which is open and apparent to everyone. CP, at 259. If the jury found the Zoo at fault based on duties to licensees, the jury either had to disregard this instruction or conclude the danger from the cliff was not open and apparent. Instruction 20 states the law correctly for licensees and trespassers. It would be reversible error for the jury to disregard it. Nichols v. Lackie, 58 Wn. App. 904, 907, 795 P.2d 722 (1990) (where verdict indicates a jury disregarded the court's instructions, a new trial is proper), review denied, 116 Wn.2d 1024 (1991). We presume the jury followed lawful instructions. Hizey v. Carpenter, 119 Wn.2d 251, 270, 830 P.2d 646 (1992) (we presume jury followed the court's instructions); Bordynoski v. Bergner, 97 Wn.2d 335, 342, 644 P.2d 1173 (1982) (same). Next, the jury reasonably could not, and did not, conclude Tincani failed to understand the risk of harm from the cliff. First, uncontradicted testimony from the sole eyewitness to the accident established Tincani knew or had reason to know the cliff was dangerous. Jorge Rodriquez, Tincani's companion at the Zoo, watched from a neighboring hill as Tincani tried to descend the rock face. On cross examination, Rodriquez conceded Tincani climbed partway down the cliff, climbed back to the top, and then made another attempt down. Q: Now when you first saw Rick on top of the cliff, he tried to climb partway down that cliff; correct? A: Yes, that's correct. Q: And then he got stumped because he could go no further? A: Uh, I don't know about going no further, but as I remember, you know, from, you know, things that  when he climbed back up, you know, you know, I thought, you know, he couldn't go any further down that trail. Q: He was trying to climb down and you figure he could go no further so he went back to the top? A: Yes Q: And when he was back up on top of the cliff, you told him to go back, didn't you? A: Yes, I did. Q: And what did you mean by go back? A: Well, I assumed he had gotten up there by a trail, so I told him to go back on the trail, backtrack on the trail and come back from the trail he came on. Q: Go back the way you got up there, in other words? A: Yes. Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP), at 540-41. Tincani disregarded the advice of his friend, tried for a second time to descend the cliff, and fell. Given this and the evidence presented at trial, the jury could not reasonably conclude the Zoo breached its duties to Tincani as a licensee. Tincani presented evidence from a private investigator and an expert in ergonomics to establish the deceptiveness of the approach to the rock outcropping. Both testified they could not gauge the dangerousness of the dropoff merely by looking down from the top, but neither attempted to climb partway down the rock face. See VRP, at 109-10 (testimony of David Williams); VRP, at 509 (testimony of Paul Champney). Had Tincani fallen over the edge at the top or stumbled immediately, the jury could have relied on Plaintiff's evidence. However, Tincani climbed partway down the outcropping, stopped, and then climbed back up. The only reasonable inference from this testimony was Tincani could not find an easy way down. Even if he had not appreciated the risk of falling while at the top of the outcropping, Tincani knew the cliff was dangerous when he climbed partway down. Thus, Plaintiff's evidence could not establish a reasonable inference Tincani was unaware of the risk. Second, by answering on question 5 that Tincani was negligent or assumed the risk, the jury had to have concluded Tincani knew of the specific risk associated with climbing down the cliff and understood the nature of this risk. CP, at 61. [5] The jury reached the only reasonable conclusion available: Tincani knew or had reason to know climbing down the cliff was dangerous. We find no grounds to uphold the jury's finding of fault based on a breach of duties to Tincani as licensee. The trial court upheld the jury's verdict, finding in part the jury did take into consideration Instruction Number 20 and applied it to the, or used it in conjunction with the other instructions that had been given, including 13 [duties to invitees] and 14 [straying from area of invitation] and concluded at that point in time there was still some obligation on the part of the defendant to the plaintiff. Now, whether it was because they felt that the danger was not that apparent, or exactly what the reasoning was, I do not know. VRP, at 850. We find no evidence in the record Tincani did not know or have reason to know the rock outcropping was dangerous. Under § 342 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, Tincani's knowledge of the risk bars any liability on the Zoo's part.