Jefferson

May a convenience store, with a parking lot design typical of the vast majority of such businesses, be held liable when a third party negligently drives his car over a concrete wheelstop and curb, onto the storefront sidewalk injuring a pedestrian? When there is nothing requiring customers to stand in a fixed location adjacent to the parking area, and when there have been no prior such accidents, the answer is, “No.”

I

The basic facts are undisputed. In front of the Qwik Korner Market in Orange is a sidewalk, six feet wide, with a raised curb exceeding six inches. Marked spaces allow parking perpendicular to the sidewalk. At the end of each space is a concrete wheelstop, three feet wide, six inches high, and eight inches front-to-back. To the side of the storefront are benches and tables.

In the early afternoon on October 8,1988, Julius Jefferson, a minor, made a purchase and was standing outside the store. As Paul D’Arca, 84, pulled into a parking space, his foot slipped. Instead of applying the brake, he hit the accelerator. The car jumped both the parking blocks and the curb, injuring Julius.

Julius’s guardián1'ad litem, Michelle McGhee, brought suit on his behalf…