Negligent security cases are difficult to defend. The
injuries can be very severe and expose property owners and
their insurance carriers to large jury verdicts.
Simultaneously, there is little guidance under
Georgia law on what actions a property owner should
take to avoid liability if they become aware
of crime on their property. A hurdle for
a plaintiff is whether the crime was foreseeable in light
of prior substantially similar crimes on the
property. When there is no evidence of the property
owner's knowledge of substantially similar prior
crimes on the property, the property owner can
prevail on summary judgment and
avoid trial. Bolton v. Golden Bus., Inc., 348 Ga.
App. 761, 763, 823 S.E.2d 371, 372 (2019), reconsideration
denied (Feb. 25, 2019), cert. denied (Nov. 4,
2019). Of course, this defense is only helpful
if the property owner is not aware of prior crime.
Another element considered is proximate
cause: whether the defendant's actions have a
