IS A LANDLORD LIABLE FOR GUN VIOLENCE WHERE YOU LIVE? LANDLORD LIABILITY FOR 3RD PARTY ACTIONS – D.C. COURTS [Members-Only Preview]

With the rise of lawsuits against gun manufacturers, in the wake of ever-growing gun violence in the United States, the question is often asked if Landlords can similarly be held responsible for gun violence within the subject properties they own or manage.

A high school student who resides in a rental property now has limited mobility and difficulty keeping up with his schoolwork due to a gun shot wound.  Is the Landlord Liable?  Perhaps?  The Court in Kline v. 1500 Massachusetts Ave. Apartment Corp., 439 F.2d 477 (D.C. Cir. 1970) addressed this issue.  In Kline, the Court reasoned that the landlord had notice, both actual and constructive, that the tenants were being subjected to crimes against their persons and their property in and from the common hallways.  For the period just prior to the time of the assault upon appellant Kline the record contained unrefuted evidence that the apartment building was undergoing a rising wave of crime.  Under these conditions, the court can only conclude that the landlord "was aware of conditions which created a likelihood" (actually, almost a certainty) that further criminal attacks upon tenants would occur.  The Court went on to conclude that as between the tenant and landlord, the landlord is the only one in the position to take the necessary acts of protection required.  He is not an insurer, but he is obligated to minimize the risk to his tenants. Not only as between landlord and tenant is the landlord best equipped to guard against the predictable risk of intruders, but even as between landlord and the police power of government, the landlord is in the best position to take the necessary protective measures.  Municipal police cannot patrol the entryways and the hallways, the garages and the basements of private multiple unit apartment dwellings.  They are not equipped, manned or empowered to do so. In the area of the predictable risk which materialized in this case, only the landlord could have taken measures which might have prevented the injuries suffered by appellant.  Because of the Court’s ruling in Kline, many D, C. tenants fear that they may be facing considerable liability for a landlord’s failure to confront and address the issue of security.

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