Gladon v. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
Ohio Supreme Court
662 N.E.2d 287 (1996)
Robert Gladon (plaintiff), an invitee at a train station owned by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) (defendant), was assaulted by two men and ended up on the railway tracks, an area the public was never invited to enter; an approaching RTA train, traveling twenty miles per hour with lights on, struck Gladon after the driver saw him, braked hard, and activated the emergency brake, causing serious injuries. Gladon sued RTA for negligence, the trial court treated him as an invitee throughout and instructed the jury accordingly, the jury found for Gladon, the appellate court affirmed, and RTA appealed.
Whether a visitor who was an invitee in one area of a landowner's property retains invitee status after unintentionally entering a different area outside the scope of the landowner's invitation.