- attractive nuisance doctrine
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A legal doctrine that makes a property owner responsible for harm caused by leaving a piece of equipment or other condition on the property that would be both attractive and dangerous to curious children. Examples of attractive nuisances are tools and construction equipment, unguarded swimming pools, open pits, and abandoned refrigerators.Category: Accidents & InjuriesCategory: Real Estate & Rental Property → HomeownersCategory: Small Claims CourtCategory: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- attractive nuisance doctrine
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n. In tort law, the doctrine that one who has a dangerous condition or thing on his property that is likely to attract a curious child is under a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the child from it. For example, one has a duty to fence or cover an unsupervised swimming pool. The fact that the child is a trespasser does not negate the duty, but is one of many factors to be taken into account in determining the exact extent of the property owner's duty and the level of care required of him.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- attractive nuisance doctrine
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n.a legal doctrine which makes a person negligent for leaving a piece of equipment or other condition on property which would be both attractive and dangerous to curious children. These have included tractors, unguarded swimming pools, open pits, and abandoned refrigerators. Liability could be placed on the people owning or controlling the premises even when the child was a trespasser who sneaked on the property. Basically the doctrine was intended to make people careful about what dangerous conditions they left untended. Some jurisdictions (including California) have abolished the attractive nuisance doctrine and replaced it with specific conditions (e.g. open pit and refrigerators) and would make property owners liable only by applying rules of foreseeable danger which make negligence harder to prove.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.