Revis v. Orr
| Decision Date | 19 September 1951 |
| Docket Number | No. 109,109 |
| Citation | 28 A.L.R.2d 609,66 S.E.2d 652,234 N.C. 158 |
| Parties | , 28 A.L.R.2d 609 REVIS, v. ORR. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Sanford W. Brown and William V. Burrow, Asheville, for plaintiff, appellant.
Harkins, Van Winkle, Walton & Buck, Asheville, for defendant, appellee.
The single question presented here is whether the court erred in allowing defendant's motion for judgment of nonsuit.
As a general rule, a dance hall proprietor, like the occupant of any building used for ordinary business purposes, who directly or by implication invites others to enter his place of business, is under the legal duty to his patrons to exercise ordinary care to keep his premises, and all parts thereof to which persons lawfully present may go, in a safe condition for the use for which they are designed and intended, and to give warning of hidden dangers or unsafe conditions in so far as can be ascertained by reasonable inspection and supervision. See Drumwright v. North Carolina Theatres, 228 N.C. 325, 45 S.E.2d 379; Ross v. Sterling Drug Store, 225 N.C. 226, 34 S.E.2d 64; Anderson v. Reidsville Amusement Co., 213 N.C. 130, 195 S.E. 386. However, such occupant is not an insurer of the safety of patrons and invitees who may enter the premises. See Pratt v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 218 N.C. 732, 12 S.E.2d 242; Fox v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 209 N.C. 115, 182 S.E. 662; Cooke v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 204 N.C. 495, 168 S.E. 679; 38 Am.Jur., Negligence, Sec. 96, pp. 754 and 755.
The liability of an occupant to an invitee for negligence in failing to keep the premises in reasonably safe condition for the invitee, or in failing to warn him of dangers thereon, must be predicated upon the occupant's superior knowledge, over that of the invitee or patron, concerning the dangers of the premises. And, ordinarily, it is only when the dangerous condition or instrumentality is known to the occupant, or in the exercise of due care should have been known to him, and not known to the person injured, that a recovery may be permitted. Pratt v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., supra, 218 N.C. 732, 12 S.E.2d 242, 243. See also 38 Am.Jur., Negligence, Sec. 97, p. 757.
In Pratt v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., supra, Barnhill, J., speaking for the Court, said: 'When claim is made on account of injuries caused by some substance on the floor along and upon which customers will be expected to walk, in order to justify recovery, it must be made to appear that the proprietor either placed or permitted the harmful substance to be there, or that he knew, or by the exercise of due care should have known, of its presence in time to have removed the danger or given proper warning of its presence.'
Here, the evidence tends to show that when the plaintiff came out of the rest room a table was sitting out on or near the edge of the dance floor, some five or six...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Martishius v. Carolco Studios, Inc., COA00-199.
...held that a landowner is not obligated to protect a lawful visitor from obvious and known dangers. See, e.g., Revis v. Orr, 234 N.C. 158, 160-61, 66 S.E.2d 652, 654 (1951) (recovery permitted only where dangerous condition is known to landowner and not known to invitee); Harris v. Nachamson......
-
Thornton v. F.J. Cherry Hosp.
...578, 135 S.E.2d 580, 582 (1964). These duties are limited to unsafe conditions of which the hospital has notice. Revis v. Orr, 234 N.C. 158, 160, 66 S.E.2d 652, 654 (1951). It is only when the dangerous condition is known or should have been known to a hospital that recovery is permitted. I......
-
Aaser v. City of Charlotte, 275
...of Mirth Shows, supra; Lynn v. Wheeler, 260 N.C. 658, 133 S.E.2d 514; Williams v. Strickland, supra. See also: Revis v. Orr, 234 N.C. 158, 66 S.E.2d 652, 28 A.L.R.2d 609 (dance hall); Anderson v. Amusement Co., supra Since what constitutes reasonable care varies with the circumstances, the ......
-
Hedrick v. Tigniere, 281
...130 S.E.2d 537; Goldman v. Kossove, 253 N.C. 370, 117 S.E.2d 35; Sledge v. Wagoner, 248 N.C. 631, 104 S.E.2d 195; Revis v. Orr, 234 N.C. 158, 66 S.E.2d 652, 28 A.L.R.2d 609; Coston v. Skyland Hotel, 231 N.C. 546, 57 S.E.2d 793; 78 C.J.S. Schools and School Districts § The sufficiency of a w......