I was attacked or shot at an apartment complex, store, hotel or parking lot. Is the property owner responsible in Texas?

Can I sue the property owner if a criminal hurt me?

You can, in the right case. The starting rule in Texas is that a property owner is not an insurer of everyone's safety and usually has no duty to stop crimes by strangers. The Texas Supreme Court made the exception clear in Lefmark Management Co. v. Old (1997): a person who controls the property must use reasonable care to protect invitees from criminal acts when it knows or has reason to know of an unreasonable and foreseeable risk of harm. Lawyers call these cases negligent security cases. They are a kind of premises liability claim, the same body of law behind slip-and-fall cases, but the danger is a person instead of a wet floor.

Control matters. In Lefmark, a man was killed in a robbery at a Harris County shopping center, and the company sued had stopped managing the center two months earlier. Because it no longer controlled the property, it owed no duty. So one of our first jobs is finding out who actually ran the place that night: the owner, a management company, a tenant business, or a security contractor.

How do courts decide whether the crime was foreseeable?

The main case is Timberwalk Apartments v. Cain, 972 S.W.2d 749 (Tex. 1998). It looks at the earlier crimes on or near the property and asks five questions:

• Proximity: did they happen on the property or right next to it?
• Recency: how long before your attack?
• Frequency: how many?
• Similarity: were they the same kind of crime? They don't have to be identical. Timberwalk itself said break-ins can show the risk of violent crime: "If a burglar may enter [an apartment], so may a rapist."
• Publicity: did the owner know, or should it have known, about them?

These factors decide real cases. In Trammell Crow Central Texas v. Gutierrez (Tex. 2008), a man was shot and killed in a shopping center parking lot after a late movie. There had been ten robberies there in two years, but none involved a gun being fired or a serious injury, and the Court held that was not enough. The lesson is that the history of the property is the case. We build it before the other side does.

What if the danger was obvious that night?

Prior crimes are not the only route. In Del Lago Partners v. Smith (Tex. 2010), a fight built for about 90 minutes among drunk patrons at a resort bar before a man was badly hurt. The Court upheld the verdict because the bar had actual and direct knowledge that a violent brawl was imminent and time to stop it. A business that watches trouble build at its door and does nothing can be responsible even with a clean record.

What does a Texas apartment owner have to provide?

Texas landlords have specific duties in Property Code chapter 92, subchapter D. Under § 92.153, every unit must have, without the tenant asking: a window latch on each exterior window; a doorknob lock or keyed dead bolt, plus a keyless bolting device and a door viewer, on each exterior door; and a pin lock and a handle latch or security bar on each sliding glass door. Under § 92.156, the landlord must rekey the locks within seven days after each tenant moves out, at its own expense. If the person who broke in used an old key, or the door had no working dead bolt, that is strong evidence. Section 92.164 gives tenants their own remedies, including actual damages.

Does the attacker's share of the blame lower what the owner pays?

Yes, and you should know this going in. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.003, the jury assigns a percentage of responsibility to everyone who caused the harm, including a responsible third party. The owner will designate the criminal, and under § 33.004(j) it can do that even if the attacker was never caught, as "John Doe." Under § 33.013, the owner pays only its own percentage unless the jury puts it above 50%. The attacker's share is often impossible to collect. That is why the evidence against the owner has to be strong, and why we look for every responsible business, including a security company that didn't do what its contract required.

What evidence matters, and how fast does it disappear?

• Police call history for the address. HPD keeps calls-for-service records for only two years, searchable by address and date range. Those calls are often the proof of what the owner knew.
• Crime data. HPD publishes monthly crime data by beat, block and type of premises, such as apartments and parking lots.
• Video. Store, hotel and apartment cameras often record over themselves within weeks. We send preservation letters right away. See how to get 911 calls and police video.
• The owner's own records: incident reports, tenant complaints, security contracts and guard logs, broken gates and lights, and rekeying records.

Is there help while the case goes on?

Yes. The Texas Attorney General's Crime Victims' Compensation program (Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 56B) can pay medical bills, counseling, lost wages and funeral costs, generally up to $50,000, with up to $75,000 more for catastrophic injuries. You must report the crime to police, cooperate with the investigation, and apply within three years of the crime (§ 56B.052). It pays after other sources, such as insurance, and it is separate from your claim against the owner. We help you apply and coordinate the two.

The deadline to sue the owner is shorter: generally two years under § 16.003. If someone was killed, see who can file a wrongful death claim. Your right to compensation does not depend on your immigration status, and we never ask about it. Once you hire us, we deal with the owner, its insurer and the security company. You talk with Jimmy directly, by phone, text, email or video call, and in person when needed, wherever you are in Texas.

Other ways people ask this

Is a landlord responsible if I was shot at my apartment complex?

It can be, if it controlled the area and the shooting was foreseeable based on prior crimes on or near the property, or it knew violence was imminent and didn't act. Broken locks, gates or lights can also matter.

The store says it isn't responsible for crimes. Is that true?

Not always. A business that controls the premises must use reasonable care against crimes it knew or should have known were likely there. The prior-crime history usually decides it.

The attacker was never caught. Can I still bring a claim?

Yes. The claim is against the owner for its own negligence. The owner can name the unknown attacker as a responsible third party, and the jury will assign a share to that person.

How long does a Texas landlord have to change the locks?

The landlord must rekey security devices no later than the seventh day after each tenant moves out, at its own expense (Property Code § 92.156).

Can crime victims' compensation help with my bills?

Often. The Attorney General's program can pay medical bills, counseling and lost wages, generally up to $50,000. You must report the crime, cooperate with police and apply within three years.

How long do I have to sue the property owner?

Generally two years from the attack under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. Evidence like police call records and video disappears much sooner.

What if I was attacked at a hotel or in a parking garage?

The same rules apply to any business that controls the property. Hotels, garages and parking lots are judged by their own crime history and what they knew.

Authority: Timberwalk Apartments v. Cain, 972 S.W.2d 749 (Tex. 1998), as applied in 5th Cir. No. 14-20609 · Tex. Prop. Code § 92.153 (security devices) · Tex. Prop. Code § 92.156 (rekeying) · Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 33 (proportionate responsibility) · Texas Attorney General: Crime Victims' Compensation eligibility · Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 56B.052 (filing deadline) · Houston Police Department: public information requests