Mr. Property Management owned the Chalmette Apartments. Over a two-year period, police investigated numerous serious crimes committed at the apartment complex. Soon thereafter, a man abducted a resident of the apartment complex from the sidewalk in front of her house, dragged her across the street to a vacant apartment in the complex, and assaulted her. The apartment’s front door was off its hinges, the windows were broken, and the apartment was filthy and full of debris. A city ordinance required property owners to keep the doors and windows of vacant structures securely closed to prevent unauthorized entry.
1) Could the owner of the apartments foresee that a crime of this type was likely to happen and therefore should have taken steps to protect against it? Please explain.
2) Can the owner be held liable for acts of violence that are committed by others? Please explain.