ALAN BRANDS ARRIVED AT the Golden Fox restaurant for a Friday- night fish fry. During his meal, a severe thunderstorm began, which caused the ceiling of the men’s restroom to leak. After finishing his meal, Alan entered the men’s room to wash his hands. He slipped on some wet tile, which was caused by the leak in the roof. Alan struck his head during the fall and was severely injured.
One week later, Alan’s attorney contacted the owners of the Golden Fox with a claim for damages. The restaurant owners maintained the fall was not their responsibility, claiming they were not the insurers of guest safety. Although the owners knew of the condition of the roof, they said it leaked only during extremely heavy thunderstorms and was too old to fix without undue economic hardship. Most important, because the storm was not within their control, the owners maintained that it was not reasonable to assume they could have foreseen the severity of the storm, and thus they could not be held liable for the accident.
1. Was the severity of the storm a foreseeable event?
2. What duty of care is in question here? ?
3. Did the restaurant act prudently?