Machado v. Yacht Haven U.S.V.I., LLC
2014 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 51, 61 V.I. 373 (2014)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
In the Virgin Islands, a possessor of land owes a uniform duty of reasonable care to all entrants on the property, regardless of their status as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser; liability is determined by the foreseeability of harm. The doctrine of implied assumption of risk is not a complete bar to recovery but is subsumed under the territory's comparative negligence statute.
Facts:
- Elissa Machado was an employee of a retailer at the Yacht Haven Grande complex.
- On November 7, 2008, after her shift at approximately 6:25 p.m., Machado walked to her car, which was parked on the far side of a three-foot-wide, landscaped median in the complex's parking lot.
- Machado and others frequently used the median as a shortcut, and Yacht Haven had no signs or policies discouraging this practice.
- The parking lot was described as "very, very dim" due to poor lighting at the time of the incident.
- While crossing the median, Machado tripped on a sprinkler head that was protruding from the ground, fell, and broke both bones in her lower right leg.
Procedural Posture:
- Elissa Machado filed a premises liability action against Yacht Haven, U.S.V.I., LLC, in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
- Following discovery, Yacht Haven moved for summary judgment.
- The Superior Court granted summary judgment in favor of Yacht Haven.
- The Superior Court ruled that Yacht Haven did not owe Machado a duty of care as an invitee because she exceeded the scope of her invitation by crossing the median, and that even if a lesser duty was owed, Yacht Haven had not breached it.
- The Superior Court further held that Machado had assumed the risk of crossing the median in the dark.
- Machado, the appellant, filed a timely appeal of the Superior Court's order to the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Does a landowner in the Virgin Islands owe a uniform duty of reasonable care to all entrants on their property, thereby abolishing the common law distinctions between invitees, licensees, and trespassers?
Opinions:
Majority - Cabret, Associate Justice
Yes, a landowner owes a uniform duty of reasonable care to all entrants. This court abolishes the common law trichotomy of invitee, licensee, and trespasser, finding it to be an archaic system rooted in feudalism that is inconsistent with modern negligence principles. The soundest rule for the Virgin Islands is to make the foreseeability of harm the 'touchstone' of a landowner's duty. This approach focuses on the landowner's superior knowledge of the property and their ability to prevent foreseeable injuries. The court extends this uniform duty even to trespassers, reasoning that retaining the category would perpetuate confusion and that foreseeability adequately accounts for the circumstances of an entrant's presence. Furthermore, the defense of implied assumption of risk is merged into the comparative negligence framework, meaning it is for a jury to apportion fault rather than for a court to bar recovery as a matter of law.
Analysis:
This decision fundamentally alters premises liability law in the Virgin Islands by replacing the rigid, status-based classification system with a modern, unified standard of reasonable care. By eliminating the invitee-licensee-trespasser trichotomy, the court aligns the jurisdiction with a growing number of states that prioritize the principle of foreseeability in all negligence actions. This shift will likely result in fewer cases being dismissed on summary judgment based on an entrant's status, instead sending more questions of liability and comparative fault to the jury. The ruling also clarifies that implied assumption of risk is not a complete defense, reinforcing the primacy of the territory's comparative negligence statute in apportioning responsibility for injuries.
