An occupier has a positive duty to make its premises reasonably
safe for visitors by taking reasonable care to protect such
visitors from foreseeable harm. But what duty does an
occupier owe to protect visitors from harm arising from the acts of
third parties? Vigilance by the occupier is required to
prevent such harm, which has been recently detailed by a British
Columbia trial court in the Langston-Bergman v. Orchard,
2022 BCSC 762 decision. In that case, the Court held the
occupier liable under BC's Occupiers Liability
Act for the conduct of a third party.
In the spirit of the late Jimi Hendrix, the defendant musician
lit his guitar on fire at the finale of his concert. But the
fire grew quickly, resulting in him kicking it towards the
plaintiff concert-goer. She sustained disfiguring burns as a
result. She commenced a lawsuit as against the defendant
musician named Ben Fussell and his band-mate, Tony Dallas, as well
as against the concert promoter, Tristan
