GREGORY CHANDLER--PREMISES LIABILITY

The basic rule is that if the age category is not met, you have a loser of a case.

Last week, I was doing some research for a case in the Ohio courts.  I came across a case from Illinois that applies to most jurisdictions.  The case is Barnett v. Ludwig and Company, 2011 WL 5326184  (Ill. App. 2 Dist.)


In Barnett, a 17-year-old guest at an apartment complex pool was found not to be within the class of persons that Illinois' Swimming Facility Act was intended to protect.  Therefore, the apartment complex owner had no legal duty under the Act to furnish a lifeguard to protect the guest from drowning.  The Act required the owner to have a lifeguard present when persons under the age of 16 were allowed in the pool enclosure without adult supervision.

Again, the basic rule is that if the age category is not met, you have a loser of a case. 

GREGORY CHANDLER, Attorney at Law