Jackson v. Warner Holdings, Ltd.
Decision Date | 05 September 1985 |
Docket Number | Civ. No. 85-2102. |
Citation | 617 F. Supp. 646 |
Parties | Cheryl Lynn JACKSON, Plaintiff, v. WARNER HOLDINGS, LTD., A Canadian Corporation, and Ruth Singer, Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Arkansas |
Buddy Garner, Fort Smith, Ark., for plaintiff.
G. Alan Wooten, Warner & Smith, Fort Smith, Ark., for defendants.
The court has reviewed the file in this case and is prepared to rule on defendants' 12(b)(6) motion. The facts as stated in the complaint allege that plaintiff, Cheryl Lynn Jackson, was a tenant in unit number 4400 of the Yorkshire Apartments owned by defendants herein when Charles Issac Wilson, Jr., entered her apartment without her consent and sexually assaulted and repeatedly raped her. Plaintiff asserts that she suffered damages as a result of the attack and that certain acts of negligence by the defendants were a proximate cause of her damages. The specific acts of negligence alleged by plaintiff are:
Whether a landlord has a duty to provide adequate security in the form of door locks, lighting and security devices to protect tenants from criminal attacks by third persons has not been specifically decided by the courts in Arkansas. In diversity cases such as this, it is the duty of this court to apply the law of Arkansas and if no definitive rule regarding the issue at bar exists, it is the obligation of this court to rule as the Arkansas Supreme Court would rule if presented with the same question. See Erie Railroad Company v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938). Under the law of Arkansas, the question of what duty is owed is always a question of law and never one for the jury. W. Prosser, Law of Torts § 45; Keller v. White, 173 Ark. 885, 293 S.W. 1017 (1927); Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Harelson, 238 Ark. 452, 382 S.W.2d 900 (1964). While there is no case directly on point with this issue, there are some Arkansas cases which address analogous issues and thereby provide the court with some guidance.
Three cases decided by the Arkansas Supreme Court between 1932 and 1983 reflect the progression of the law generally in regard to the extracontractual duties owed by landlords to their tenants.
In Joseph v. Riffel, 186 Ark. 418, 53 S.W.2d 987 (1932), the court held that "in the absence of statute or agreement, the landlord is under no legal obligation to light common passageways for the benefit of tenants." See 186 Ark. at 420, 53 S.W.2d 987. The court did not equivocate in so ruling, and merely stated that its holding was in conformity with the "general rule."
In Kilbury v. McConnell, 246 Ark. 528, 438 S.W.2d 692 (1969), the court followed Joseph, but not without some reluctance. In Kilbury the court held that in the absence of an express or implied agreement, a landlord is under no obligation or duty to remove such temporary hazards as a natural accumulation of ice and snow from a common stairway for the common use of his tenants. However, the court did not arrive at its decision without some reluctance. The court noted that "many courts have found favor with this rule which imposes upon the landlord the duty to exercise reasonable care with respect to keeping the premises free from accumulations of ice and snow." In conclusion, the court stated 246 Ark. at 532-33, 438 S.W.2d 692.
The law in this area has rapidly progressed in the past few years and that progression is reflected in Keck v. American Employment Agency, Inc., 279 Ark. 294, 652 S.W.2d 2 (1983).
In Keck the plaintiff sought employment through American Employment Agency and was referred to Gregory Devon Joiner who was pretending to be an employer. When Keck went to work, Joiner abducted and raped her. Reversing a directed verdict in favor of the defendant, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that the employment agency is burdened with the duty of exercising ordinary care in its relationship with Keck. "The employment agency created its relationship with Mrs. Keck by offering its services and thereby put itself in the position of owing a duty to her; and that duty in this case went beyond merely producing a man who claimed to be an employer."
The court's progression away from the older line of conservative cases is especially evident in the analogies drawn by the court which are very closely on point with the case now at bar.
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Roberts v. Unimin Corp.
...still stands. See Bartley v. Sweetser, 319 Ark. 117, 890 S.W.2d 250 (1994) (rejecting the Erie prediction of Jackson v. Warner Holdings, Ltd., 617 F. Supp. 646 (W.D. Ark. 1985)). If the question involves multiple states, the issues are compounded. See Nolan v. Transocean Air Lines, 276 F.2d......
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Bartley v. Sweetser
...which held that the landlord owes no special duty to tenants and that tenants are not invitees. She also cites Jackson v. Warner Holdings, Ltd., 617 F.Supp. 646 (W.D.Ark.1985), where the federal court held that Arkansas would recognize a duty owed by the landlord to tenants in providing ade......