Jim Webb
, a trial lawyer with McAfee & Taft, was interviewed for a Journal Record article about some of the issues mall operators must wrestle with when faced with a dangerous storm system that threatens to strand shoppers. It was something they had to deal with during the Christmas Eve blizzard that hit the Oklahoma City metro area that quickly brought travel to a standstill.
Most mall operators elected to close early. Some allowed customers and employees to "stay as long as necessary to secure rides home," the article reported. One local television meterologist urged mall operators to remain open for patrons during the storm.
But that could create a potential legal liability problem for those malls, Webb told The Journal Record. "You're probably better off sending them out into the cold, at least from a legal perspective."
Webb told The Journal Record that in civil trials, the Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions clarify, “It is the duty of the owner/occupant to use ordinary care to keep his/her/its premises in a reasonably safe condition for the use of his/her/its invitees. … This duty extends to all portions of the premises to which an invitee may reasonably be expected to go.”
And an empty mall after-hours is a large zone to protect, he said.
You can read the full article here.