Rodriguez v. Del Sol Shopping Center Associates, L.P.

326 P.3d 465 (2014)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

A truck crashed through the front glass of the Concentra Medical Clinic (Concentra) in the Del Sol Shopping Center (Del Sol) (D) in Santa Fe, killing three people and seriously injuring several others. Rodriguez (Ps) sued Ds alleging that Ds negligently contributed to the accident by, among other things, failing to adequately post signage; failing to install speed bumps; failing to erect barriers that would have protected buildings, employees, and visitors from errant vehicles; or failing to use other traffic control methods in the parking lot. The district courts involved granted summary judgment and found that this accident 'was not foreseeable' as a matter of law, and therefore found that no duty existed. Ps appealed. The Court of Appeals consolidated the two cases and affirmed the district courts' common ruling that Ds 'had no duty to protect Ps inside the building from criminally reckless drivers.' The Court of Appeals correctly rejected the foreseeability-driven duty analysis by the district courts, stating that it was affirming both cases based on a 'policy-driven duty analysis advanced by the Restatement (Third) of Torts. Ps appealed again.