Totten v. More Oakland Residential Housing, Inc

In Totten v. More Oakland Residential Housing, Inc. (1976) 63 Cal.App.3d 538, the plaintiff-tenant, while seated in the laundry room of the defendant's apartment house, sustained injuries as a result of a shooting which occurred on the premises. A demurrer to the complaint was held to have been properly sustained on the ground that the landlord, absent prior similar incidents, is not required to anticipate the occurrence of criminal activities where the perpetrators were strangers and the incident causing the injury was sudden and unexpected. The Court held that, in the absence of allegations of prior similar incidents in the building, a landlord is not required to take precautions against a sudden attack, from a third person, that he has no reason to anticipate. In Totten, the plaintiff was visiting a tenant when she was injured by pistol shots during a fight between two strangers in the laundry room. Since the plaintiff was not a tenant, no special relationship was established. She also had failed to allege sufficient facts to demonstrate that the landlord could have foreseen the criminal conduct in question. The Court concluded, therefore, that imposition of liability on the landlord would be unfair and against public policy.