Gerchberg v. Loney

The Loneys (defendants) had their 10-year-old son burn papers in a barrel incinerator on their property; the son and his five-year-old neighbor Rolf Gerchberg (plaintiff) left the fire burning unattended, and when Gerchberg returned alone and began burning papers himself, his clothing caught fire from the barrel's flames, seriously injuring him. Gerchberg sued the Loneys, the trial court directed a verdict for the Loneys, and on appeal Gerchberg argued for a universal reasonable-care duty owed to all premises visitors regardless of their legal status; the court of appeals declined to adopt that universal standard but reversed on an attractive-nuisance theory, and Gerchberg sought further review.