Locke

The defendant Bennett’s Inc., a corporation, has appealed from a judgment which was rendered against it in a suit for damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff as a result of stepping into an open crack in the concrete floor of a store at Westwood, California, operated by the appellant as lessee of the premises. The cause was tried by the court sitting without a jury. Findings were adopted favorable to the plaintiff to the effect that the appellant was guilty of negligence in knowingly permitting the dangerous crack to remain in the floor for a period of more than two years, and that plaintiff was free from contributory negligence. A judgment for the sum of $3,045 was accordingly rendered in favor of the plaintiff. It is not contended that the judgment is excessive.

The appellant contends that the plaintiff, as a customer in the store, was a mere licensee toward whom it was merely liable for wilful and wanton neglect, and that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence in failing to observe the hole which was plainly visible to one who exercised ordinary care. In other words, it is asserted the proprietor is not liable for injuries sustained to a customer…