Rogers v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.

1. A duty rests upon the occupier of land to exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe for persons coming thereon by his invitation. Civil Code (1910), § 4420. The invitee, in coming upon the land, may rely upon the discharge of this duty by the person occupying the land and in control thereof, and therefore is not necessarily and as a matter of law guilty of negligence in failing to discover the existence of a patent defect in the premises which renders it unsafe for persons coming upon the premises. If the defect, though patent, is not of such a nature and character as to be…