Court Opinion

ID: 9746163
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 14:05:09.805646+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:37:44.094924
License: Public Domain

RYLAARSDAM, J., Concurring.
I concur. But I write separately to note that it was because of the limited scope of the landlord’s duty that was presented to the trial court that I agree to reverse the judgment. Not only the existence of a landlord’s duty, but also the scope of that duty, is a question of law. “Foreseeability, when analyzed to determine the existence or scope of a duty, is a question of law to be decided by the court.” (Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center (1993) 6 Cal.4th 666, 678 [25 Cal.Rptr.2d 137, 863 P.2d 207], italics added.)
In his motion for summary , judgment defendant did not contradict that other measures he might have taken would also exceed the scope of his duty. He only asserted that he had no duty to provide guard service. I agree *1471that to impose a duty to provide 24-hour guard service at this four-unit apartment complex because of the brandishing incident would be unreasonably burdensome.
In Ann M. v. Pacific Plaza Shopping Center, supra, 6 Cal.4th 666, the plaintiff, who worked in a shopping center, was raped inside her store. In the suit against the owner of the center, she claimed it negligently failed to provide security sufficient to prevent the rape. The court determined the owner did not have “reasonable cause to anticipate that criminal conduct such as rape would occur in the shopping center premises unless it provided security patrols in the common areas.” (Id. at p. 676; see id. at p. 679.)
Here, the burden of hiring a round-the-clock security guard at a fourplex, in light of the one prior incident, is extreme. In Ann M. the court did not require a security guard for an entire shopping center. If a guard were needed, plaintiff could have had one to accompany him at far less expense than would be imposed on the landlord.
My colleagues suggest a precautionary act defendant could have taken to protect plaintiff was to call the police. Jean, the person allegedly witnessing the prior act, stated in her deposition that, although she was initially reluctant to do so, after the brandishing incident she did speak to the police. When she called and explained what happened she was told “it would be [her] word against his.” Although she expected the police “would at least investigate the fact that [Daniel] had a gun,” to her knowledge nothing was ever done.
Under these circumstances, would a second call from the landlord, who could not claim to have witnessed the incident, be more likely to result in police action? And, if not, how can we say that the breach of the landlord’s duty to call the police contributed to the shooting incident that injured plaintiff?
My colleagues also refer indirectly to the possibility that defendant might have evicted Daniel. But does a landlord have a legal duty to evict a tenant where the police fail to take action after a purported witness reports the incident to them? What liabilities might a landlord have incurred had the report proved to be false? Is it unreasonable for a landlord to require a police report or a restraining order to begin eviction proceedings after he learns of an incident such as the brandishing that allegedly occurred here?
*1472These are issues that were not litigated in the trial court. In concurring in the reversal of the summary judgment, I do not intend that the opinion should be read so as to preclude the court from considering such matters.