Katko v. Briney
| Katko v. Briney | |
|---|---|
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
| Full case name | Marvin Katko v. Edward Briney and Bertha L. Briney |
| Citation(s) | 183 N.W.2d 657 |
| Case history | |
| Appealed from | Iowa District Court for the 8th Judicial District |
| Case opinions | |
| Landowner had a duty not to set potentially deadly traps for trespassers. | |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting |
Chief Justice C. Edwin Moore Associate Justices Robert L. Larson · William Corwin Stuart · M. L. Mason · Francis H. Becker · Warren J. Rees · Maurice E. Rawlings · Clay LeGrand · Harvey Uhlenhopp |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Moore |
| Dissent | Larson |
Katko v. Briney, 183 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 1971), was a court case decided by the Supreme Court of Iowa, in which a homeowner (Edward Briney) was held liable for battery for injuries caused to a trespasser (Marvin Katko) who set off a spring gun set as a mantrap in an abandoned house on the homeowner's property.
Briney inherited an old farmhouse in Mahaska County, Iowa, which he had left vacant for the last ten years prior to the incident. He had the house boarded up and placed "No Trespassing" signs around the property. The house was in poor condition and was subject to frequent burglaries and break-ins. To defend the house against intruders, Briney mounted a 20-gauge spring-loaded shotgun in the farmhouse and rigged it to fire when the north bedroom door was opened. The gun was aimed downward so as to shoot an intruder's legs, rather than cause a mortal injury. Briney also covered the bedroom window with steel. A month later, on July 16, 1967, Katko entered the farmhouse with the intent of stealing some old bottles and dated fruit jars that Katko considered antiques. He was aware of their presence because he and a friend had broken into the house two weeks earlier. When Katko entered the bedroom, he tripped the trigger mechanism and the shotgun fired into his legs at point blank range. The gunshot wounds were sufficiently severe to require hospitalization, and Katko sued Briney after his release from the hospital.
Garold Heslinga of Oskaloosa, Iowa, was the attorney for the appellee (Katko) and Bruce Palmer and H.S. Life. also of Oskaloosa, Iowa, represented the appellants (Brineys).
The Court ruled that using deadly force on intruders in an unoccupied property was not reasonable or justified. Briney would have been justified in defending himself with the shotgun if he had been home during the intrusion. The plaintiff's status as a trespasser is irrelevant when assessing liability in this case.
The case stands for the proposition that, though a landowner has no duty to make his property safe for trespassers, he may not set deadly traps against them, holding that "the law has always placed a higher value upon human safety than upon mere rights in property." The court thus ruled for Katko, entering judgment for $20,000 in actual damages and $10,000 in punitive damages.
...
Wikipedia