Walter E. and Mary L. Hersh v. E-T Enterprises

KETCHUM, Justice:

In this appeal from the Circuit Court of Berkeley County, we are asked to examine the “open and obvious” doctrine as it applies in premises liability actions. Under this common-law doctrine, if a plaintiff is injured by a hazard on another’s land that was “open and obvious” such that it was or could have been known to the reasonable plaintiff, then the plaintiff is barred as a matter of law from recovering any damages from the premises owner or possessor. Under the doctrine, the premises owner or possessor owes no duty of care to eliminate open and obvious hazards; instead,…