Mulraney v. Auletto's Catering

In Mulraney v. Auletto's Catering, 293 N.J.Super. 315, 319, 680 A.2d 793 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 147 N.J. 263, 686 A.2d 764 (1996), a patron of the defendant catering business visited the business. The parking lot was filled, so the patron parked across a busy highway from the business. After attending a bridal affair at the defendants business, the patron was hit by a car and killed as she crossed the highway. Her husband and daughter sued the defendant. 293 N.J.Super. at 317-18, 680 A.2d 793. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant, holding that the business had no duty to provide safe passage across the highway. Id. at 319, 680 A.2d 793. In reversing, id. at 324, 680 A.2d 793, the Court noted that, although a landowner's duty generally applies to those who come onto the land, it can be extended beyond the property. Id. at 319, 680 A.2d 793. Thus, the defendant had a duty to provide a reasonably safe passage for its patrons crossing a highway to reach the business. Id. at 320-21, 680 A.2d 793. The Court reached this conclusion based upon the following factors: the special relationship between the business invitee and the business; the fact that there was a substantial risk that a patron crossing the highway at night could be hit by a passing car; the fact that steps could be taken to ameliorate that danger; and the fairness of imposing that duty of care on a business which knows its patrons used the parking lot across the highway. Id. at 321-22, 680 A.2d 793. The Court acknowledged our holding in Mulraney, supra, and noted that the defendant there had received an economic benefit from the patron's use of the lot to get to defendants business.