Court Opinion

ID: 9862415
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-25 01:09:57.5675+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:25:29.300305
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE TULLY, dissenting: I must respectfully disagree with the majority’s opinion that the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for a directed verdict. A trial court should grant a motion for directed verdict only in those cases where all the evidence, when viewed in its aspect most favorable to the nonmovant, so overwhelmingly favors the movant that no contrary verdict based on the evidence could ever stand. Pedrick v. Peoria & Eastern R.R. Co., 37 Ill. 2d 494, 510, 229 N.E.2d 504, 513-14 (1967). Upon a careful review of the record, I do not find that the evidence so overwhelmingly favors defendant’s position that no duty exists that the jury’s verdict for plaintiff cannot stand. As the majority points out, although a landlord generally owes its tenants no duty to protect them from criminal attacks by third parties, an exception to this rule exists when a landlord voluntarily undertakes to provide security services. See Pippin v. Chicago Housing Authority, 78 Ill. 2d 204, 209-10, 399 N.E.2d 596 (1979). In the present case, defendant undertook to provide an extensive security system on the premises. Instead of simply hiring an outside security firm, as was the case in Pippin, defendant herein sought to oversee the security services being provided by Corporate Security. Defendant required Corporate Security to provide it with daily log reports detailing any and all incidents occurring on the premises. Defendant also assigned one of its managers to review such reports and to determine if the security needs of the premises were being met. Once a week defendant’s manager met with the director of Corporate Security to discuss the security measures being implemented. Plaintiff also produced evidence of at least one occasion where defendant exercised control over Corporate Security’s hiring of an additional security guard for the premises. Thus, defendant clearly retained control of the security operations on its premises even though such services were provided by an outside security firm. When a landlord voluntarily undertakes to provide such services, it has a duty to do so in a nonnegligent manner. See Phillips v. Chicago Housing Authority, 89 Ill. 2d 122, 127, 431 N.E.2d 1038 (1982). Accordingly, I believe the evidence presented by plaintiff clearly demonstrates the existence of a duty on the part of defendant, and, as such, the trial court was correct in denying defendant’s motion for a directed verdict.