Venue: |
MO SC
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Facts: |
Kinneys host a bible study group. They've got no particular other
affiliation with Carter. It snows, and Kinney shovels before
bed. But it gets a little icy over night, and Carter slips on
the way to morning Bible study. |
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Posture: |
Summary judgment for the Kinney's at trial. |
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Issue: |
Was Carter an invitee or a licensee? |
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Holding: |
Licensee. The trial court is affirmed. |
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Rule: |
Hosts need to make licensees safe from dangers of which they are aware;
hosts need to exercise reasonable care to protect invitees from
both known and unknown dangers. You're a licensee unless you get
an invitation "with the expectation of a material benefit to the
possessor from the visit" or an "invitation to the public generally." |
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Reasoning: |
There was no material benefit at stake here; there was no commercial
relationship; there was no evidence that the public at large were
invited. This notion of an intangible benefit to be had from the
meeting is not one recognized by MO law. |
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Dicta: |
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