Retailer has no duty to secure customer's oversized load
By Tammy L. Williams

A retailer has no duty to secure oversized merchandise to a customer’s truck, the Washington Court of Appeals has held.

In Ganno v. Lanoga Corp., no. 29762-1-I (Nov. 25, 2003), Henry Ganno bought a 12-foot, 100-pound wooden beam at Lumbermen’s Building Center. A Lumbermen’s employee used a forklift to help Ganno load the beam onto Ganno’s pickup truck. The truck’s bed was half the length of the beam. The beam stuck out some four feet beyond the truck’s tailgate. The employee placed a flag on the rear end of the beam. Lumbermen’s supplied twine for customers to use in securing loads. However, Lumbermen’s had posted a sign that said that it would not secure loads for customers.

Neither Ganno nor anyone from Lumbermen’s tied or secured the load. Ganno drove away. As he rounded a corner, the beam fell into the street. He got out and tried to put the beam back onto the truck, but another vehicle hit the beam. The beam struck and injured Ganno.

Ganno sued Lumbermen’s for his injuries. He claimed that Lumbermen’s was negligent in loading the beam without securing it. Lumbermen’s moved for summary judgment. Lumbermen’s argued that it did not owe Ganno a duty as its business invitee, because the accident did not happen on its premises. The trial court agreed and dismissed the action.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. The court noted that premises liability traditionally arises from known or obvious dangers on a landowner’s property, and the landowner’s duty to warn an invitee about these dangers. “The key to liability is that the injury occurs on the landowner’s property,” the court held.