Also known as: public invitees
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who is invited to enter or remain on land as a member of the public for a purpose for which the land is held open to the public. This classification triggers the possessor's duty to exercise reasonable care to keep the premises reasonably safe for such entrants.
MetroTerm posts signs inviting all travelers and drivers to wait in its climate-controlled lobby. Malik, a rideshare driver between fares, sits in the lobby and uses the restroom. When a bench collapses and injures him, Malik's status as a public invitee means MetroTerm owes him a duty to inspect for and correct hazards in the lobby furniture.
Brookside Arts Center advertises its outdoor sculpture garden as a free public space. Cara enters during open hours and leans against an unsecured metal sculpture that tips over and crushes her leg. Cara's entry in response to the public invitation establishes her as a public invitee, so the center must exercise reasonable care to protect her from unreasonable risks on the premises.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A public invitee enters land held open to the public in response to an invitation extended to members of the public. A licensee enters only by permission for the licensee's own purposes. The distinction determines whether the possessor owes a duty of reasonable care to inspect and warn or merely a duty to avoid willful and wanton conduct.
Supporting sources
No. The definition turns on whether the land is held open to the public for the purpose of the visit and whether the visitor enters in response to that invitation. Free public events, free museum access, and free community screenings all support public invitee status even without any economic transaction.
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Yes when the accompaniment is incidental to the public event and occurs in the same space held open for that purpose. A parent waiting in a lobby to retrieve a child attending a publicly advertised seminar remains within the scope of the invitation even without personally participating.
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The visitor may lose invitee status for the restricted portion. When corridors are marked for patients and authorized personnel only and non-patient visitors are routinely directed away, a non-patient who enters those areas is more likely classified as a licensee or trespasser.
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