Owner Liable for Shopper's Injuries Outside Tenant's Store

Facts: A shopper was hit by a motorist on the sidewalk outside of a shopping center tenant’s store. The shopper sued the center’s owner and the tenant. The owner and the tenant each asked a trial court for a judgment in its favor without a trial. Each said that the other had a duty of care to the shopper and was liable for damages arising from the accident. The court ruled in favor of the tenant, and the owner appealed.

Decision: An Illinois appeals court upheld the decision of the trial court.

Reasoning: The appeals court determined that the tenant didn’t owe a duty of care to the customer when she was injured, because the sidewalk on which she was standing and the parking lot the motorist drove through to reach her were under the owner’s exclusive control. The tenant also didn’t have a duty to warn the shopper of the potential danger of parking spots facing its store because shoppers at a center should be aware of that danger.

• Hougan v. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc., Nov. 2013