Mann v. Northgate Investors, L.L.C., 138 Ohio St. 3d 175

Plaintiff Lauren Mann (age 16) was a guest at a tenant’s second-floor apartment and, while exiting at night, descended two flights of stairway in darkness and stumbled through a glass panel beside the exit door, sustaining injuries.
Mann sued landlord Northgate Investors alleging negligent failure to maintain adequate lighting in common areas (ingress/egress) during nocturnal hours.
Trial court granted summary judgment for landlord, finding Mann was an invitee owed ordinary care only and that the darkness was an open-and-obvious hazard negating liability.
The Tenth District Court of Appeals reversed, holding tenants’ guests fall within protections of R.C. 5321.04 and that a landlord’s statutory violation is negligence per se, so the open-and-obvious doctrine does not apply.
The Ohio Supreme Court granted review to resolve a conflict about whether R.C. 5321.04(A)(3) duties apply to a tenant’s guest in common areas and whether violation constitutes negligence per se.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a landlord owes the duties of R.C. 5321.04(A)(3) (keep common areas safe) to a tenant’s guest lawfully on common-area stairs	Mann: Yes — landlord duties under R.C. 5321.04 extend to guests (Shump)	Northgate: No — guest is an invitee/licensee owed ordinary care only; statute governs landlord-tenant duties, not third parties	Held: Yes — landlord owes same R.C. 5321.04(A)(3) duties to tenant’s guests in common areas
Whether violation of R.C. 5321.04(A)(3) constitutes negligence per se and precludes the open-and-obvious defense	Mann: Yes — the statute sets a fixed, definite standard; violation is negligence per se	Northgate: No — ordinary negligence analysis and open-and-obvious doctrine apply	Held: Yes — R.C. 5321.04(A)(3) violation is negligence per se; open-and-obvious doctrine is inapplicable where statutory negligence per se exists

Shump v. First Continental–Robinwood Assocs., 71 Ohio St.3d 414 (1994) (landlord owes same duties under R.C. 5321.04 to persons lawfully upon leased premises, including guests)
Shroades v. Rental Homes, Inc., 68 Ohio St.2d 20 (1981) (R.C. Chapter 5321 changed common-law landlord-tenant duties and permits tort liability for statutory breaches)
Sikora v. Wenzel, 88 Ohio St.3d 493 (2000) (explains when statutory landlord duties give rise to negligence per se vs. evidence of negligence)
Robinson v. Bates, 112 Ohio St.3d 17 (2006) (landlord’s statutory breach under R.C. 5321.04 can negate the open-and-obvious doctrine)
Chambers v. St. Mary’s School, 82 Ohio St.3d 563 (1998) (negligence per se arises where statute sets a definite standard of care)
Stackhouse v. Close, 83 Ohio St. 339 (1911) (historical authority holding landlords may be liable to tenant’s guests for breaches of statutory duties)
Ornella v. Robertson, 14 Ohio St.2d 144 (1968) (statutory standards fixed and absolute; used to analyze specificity for negligence per se)