Imagine you are at a lovely restaurant, sitting at one of their bucolic patio tables having lunch. As you eat your lunch a black widow spider crawls up your back and bites you so bad that you are hospitalized with numbness and weakness in your extremities due to
damage to the myelin sheath around your thoracic spine thereby affecting the conduction of signals to your feet, legs, arms and hands. Can you maintain a lawsuit against the restaurant claiming that the restaurant had a duty of care to protect patrons from foreseeable black widow spider bites?

The California Court of Appeals for the Fourth Appellate District on June 15, 2018, in its opinion in Coyle v. Historic Mission Inn Corporation says you can maintain such an action against a restaurant. The Court explained:

A restaurant owner would reasonably foresee that there would be a risk of a patron being bitten if a restaurant owner did nothing concerning spiders other than record their presence—not providing warnings, not hiring an exterminator, etc. Thus, the risk that a black widow spider would come into contact with a patron is sufficiently likely that a reasonably thoughtful restaurant owner would take the risk into account when operating a restaurant.

The Court, in reversing summary judgment in favor of the restaurant, held it was up to a jury to decide whether the restaurant took reasonable care and what reasonable care means under the circumstances.

The Court concluded a restaurant has a duty to exercise reasonable care in relation to black widow spiders that pose a risk of injury to patrons on its premises. It then provided Plaintiff with a blueprint for what she must prove:

. . . that (1) a reasonable person would have (a) warned patrons about the risk of black widow spiders at the property, or (b) put pest control measures in place for black widow spiders, such as pesticide being sprayed; (2) the Mission Inn did nothing with
respect to black widow spiders, reflecting breach; (3) Coyle was bitten by a black widow spider at the Mission Inn, reflect in causation; and (4) Coyle suffered pain and incurred medical expenses as a result of the spider bite, reflecting damages.

If you own a restaurant you must use reasonable care to assure your patrons are not injured on your premises. Consult with qualified legal counsel to determine what you should do if you find a bug infestation on the premises. You want a patron to eat at your restaurant not end up owning part of it.

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.