A shopping mall owner hires a construction company to design and construct a new entryway. The company negligently selects a slippery material. A week later, a customer slips and is injured. Will the customer likely recover against the mall owner?

• A. Yes, because the mall owner's duty to maintain safe conditions is nondelegable.
• B. No, because the contractor is solely responsible.
• C. Yes, only if the mall directly supervised the work.
• D. No, because the mall is not liable for contractor's acts.

Answer: (A)

The key concept is that landowners have a nondelegable duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for invitees. This duty cannot be transferred away simply by hiring an independent contractor to do the work. Here, the mall owner hired a construction company to design and build the entryway, and the material chosen by the contractor created a dangerous condition on the premises. Because the danger stems from the condition of the property, the owner remains responsible to patrons for injuries that result, even though the contractor caused the hazard. The timing of the injury (a week later) doesn’t change the owner’s ongoing duty to maintain safe premises.

So, the customer can likely recover against the mall owner because the owner’s duty to keep the premises safe is nondelegable. The other options are not correct because they would improperly excuse the owner from liability or require direct supervisor in order to pass the duty.