Most people don’t walk into a store, restaurant, or parking garage expecting to become a victim. But crimes do happen on commercial properties, and when they do, the business may share legal responsibility for what occurred. California law doesn’t let property owners off the hook simply because a third party committed the act.
The question courts ask is whether the business knew, or should have known, that a crime like this was foreseeable, and whether they did enough to prevent it.
Foreseeability Is the Foundation
A business can’t be held liable for every crime that happens on its property. That would be an impossible standard. What California law requires is that the business take reasonable precautions against risks that were foreseeable given the circumstances.
Foreseeability is built from facts. Courts look at things like:
- Prior criminal incidents at the same location or nearby
- Whether the business had received complaints about safety or security
- The type of business and the population it serves
- The time of day and conditions at the property
- Whether existing security measures were adequate or functioning
A nightclub that has had multiple assaults in its parking lot over the past year faces a very different standard than a boutique shop in a quiet neighborhood with no history of incidents. Context shapes everything.
The Duty to Maintain Reasonable Security
Under California Civil Code Section 1714, property owners are legally responsible for injuries caused by their failure to exercise ordinary care. For commercial properties, this includes taking reasonable steps to protect visitors from foreseeable criminal harm.
What does that actually look like? It depends on the business, but common expectations include maintaining working locks and access controls, providing adequate lighting in parking areas and common spaces, hiring security personnel when the risk warrants it, responding promptly to reported safety concerns, and monitoring areas where incidents have previously occurred.
A business that ignores documented risks isn’t just making a bad decision. It may be creating the conditions for a legally actionable failure of care.
What Victims Have to Show
If you were harmed by a criminal act on a business’s property, you can’t simply point to the location and expect liability to follow. You need to demonstrate a few connected things: that the business owed you a duty of care, that they breached it by failing to address a foreseeable risk, that the breach contributed to the crime occurring, and that you suffered real harm as a result.
That chain of causation matters. It’s not enough to show the business had poor lighting. You have to show the poor lighting was part of why the crime happened and why you were hurt.
A Foster City premises liability lawyer can help you evaluate whether those elements are present in your situation and what evidence would support your claim.
Types of Businesses That Face These Claims
Some commercial properties see these cases more frequently than others. Hotels, bars, nightclubs, apartment complexes, shopping centers, and parking structures are among the most common settings for premises liability claims involving criminal acts.
That’s not coincidence. These are properties that regularly attract large numbers of people, often at night, in areas with varying levels of security. The foreseeability argument tends to be stronger in these contexts, particularly when the business has a documented history of incidents and failed to meaningfully respond.
Morales Law Firm has worked with clients harmed in exactly these settings, where the business had every reason to act and chose not to.
Your Situation May Be Stronger Than You Think
People often assume that because a stranger committed the crime, the business isn’t responsible. That’s not always how California law works. If a property owner’s failure to maintain reasonable security created the opportunity for that crime to happen, liability can follow.
If you were assaulted, robbed, or otherwise harmed on a commercial property, speaking with a Foster City premises liability lawyer is a practical way to understand whether the facts of your case support a claim and what your legal options look like from here.
