Hail v. Regency Terrace Owners Ass'n

In Hail v. Regency Terrace Owners Ass'n, [Ms. 1981397, December 22, 1999] So. 2d (Ala. 1999) the plaintiff, after her husband was killed in a fire in their apartment building, filed a wrongful-death action based on premises liability against the owner of the apartment complex. In the 13 months preceding the fire that killed Mr. Hail, there had been 8 to 13 fires in the same building the Hails lived in. All of those fires were suspected arson fires. The Court held that, based on the facts and circumstances of that case, the trial court erred in entering a summary judgment for the apartment complex owner. The Court concluded that the evidence in that case, although it did not establish that the plaintiff was entitled to a judgment against the apartment complex owners, did present a jury question on the issue of foreseeability.