Musgrove v. Ambrose Properties

In Musgrove v. Ambrose Properties (1978) 87 Cal.App.3d 44, the plaintiff was permitted to recover for personal injuries sustained when she was struck by a bicycle ridden by a boy on the premises of a shopping center. The defendant knew that bicycles were ridden on his premises but there was no evidence that a bicycle had struck anyone prior to the injury suffered by plaintiff. The Court of Appeal noted that an owner of land held open to the public for business purposes is under a duty to take affirmative action to control the wrongful acts of third persons which threaten the safety of visitors to the premises where he has reasonable cause to anticipate such acts and the probability of injury resulting therefrom. The court held that the foreseeability was a question of fact, and noted that the evidence permitted a finding that the chance of a bicyclist striking the pedestrian was foreseeable, unless precautions were taken.