Premises liability refers to the responsibility property owners have to visitors.

Utah law defines three types of visitors to which property owners have a duty of care:

• Invitees: An invitee is someone who lawfully enters a property that is open to the public, typically for the purpose of conducting business. A customer in a grocery store is an example of an invitee.
• Licensees: A licensee is someone who enters any property with the express or implied permission of the property owner. This includes people who visit a property for social reasons, as well as those who lawfully enter a property of some other reason, such as a solicitor.
• Trespassers: A trespasser, also known as an “unlawful entrant,” is someone who does not have the property owner’s express or implied permission to be on the property. In other words, trespassers are those who enter a property unlawfully.

Property owners have varying degrees of responsibility to different types of visitors, with the greatest duty of care owed to invitees, followed by licensees. Generally speaking, Utah property owners do not owe any duty of care to trespassers, though there are some exceptions.

When it comes to invitees and licensees, property owners can be held liable for injuries and damages when they knew about or reasonably should have known about a dangerous condition that existed on the property yet failed to adequately remove, repair, or warn others about the condition. To have a claim against a property owner, you will need to prove that the dangerous condition was the cause of your injuries and that you suffered damages related to your injuries. Under Utah’s modified comparative negligence rule, you could lose your opportunity to file a claim if the court finds that you were 50% or more to blame for your injuries, and your total recovery will be reduced by your percentage of fault if you are found to have contributed to your injuries whatsoever.