Driver's License Testee Accidently Hit the People Sitting In the Waiting Area of a Driver Service Facility

Were the Owner and Contractor Who Built the Driver Service Facility Liable When a Driver's License Testee Accidently Hit the People Sitting in the Waiting Area ? In Stutz v. Kamm, 204 Ill. App. 3d 898, 562 N.E.2d 399, 149 Ill. Dec. 935 (1990), a driver's license testee who was backing out of a parking space in the lot of a driver service facility accidently drove off the rear edge of the parking lot. The testee then drove forward rapidly, crashing into the driver service facility and striking the plaintiffs, who were sitting in the waiting area. The plaintiffs sued the owner of the facility and the contractor that constructed the parking lot. The plaintiffs alleged various specific defects in the construction of the parking lot that they claimed contributed to the accident, including the failure to provide bumpers or other stops to prevent automobiles from driving into the facility. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' complaint under section 2-615, reasoning as follows: "After considering all the factors present in plaintiffs' complaints, we hold that a duty did not legally exist requiring defendants to prevent the type of harm which occurred. It would be mere speculation to say the accident would have been prevented if defendants had performed the omissions or not performed the negligent acts which plaintiffs alleged in their complaints. Moreover, extensive testing would be required to determine what structural barriers could have prevented such an occurrence. Placing a duty upon defendant owners or the defendant contractor in this case to guard against this type of harm would be an unreasonable burden. While it can be argued that everything is foreseeable, we hold foreseeability as a matter of law was not present in this case." Stutz, 204 Ill. App. 3d at 906.