Kukulski/Draft Letter to Rosauers re: FenceDear
From recent discussions with legal counsel, I have learned
that Rosauer's legal duty to its "business invitees" could be
extended beyond its parking lot facility to the City of Kalispell
airport property; and, that primary liability for personal injury
or property damages arising out of an accident on airport property
could be imposed upon Rosauer's if the accident victim were
determined to be a "business invitee" of Rosauer's at the time of
such an accident.
Legal counsel have also informed me that the City of Kalispell
could be joined as a defendant with Rosauer's in a court action for
the recovery of damages in a personal injury or property damage
claim under a "joint and several liability" theory which permits
damage claimants to include any "deep pockets" entity remotely
connected with an incident.
In order to minimize, if not eliminate, the risk that your
store operations have brought to the city airport property, I
believe that it is incumbent upon Rosauer's and the City of
Kalispell to cooperate in the construction of a fence along the
west boundary of your property which would restrain, if not
prevent, your "business invitees" from entering upon the airport
property. The City of Kalispell is willing to share in the cost of
the construction of such a fence.
I have been informed that, in the negotiation of the sales
agreement for the property, it was understood that Rosauer's would
fence the west boundary property line; -but, that this understanding
was not included in the final sales agreement. Rather than
attempting to deal with this matter on a contractual basis at this
time, I believe we should proceed in a cooperative effort to
protect the safety of both your customers and those lawfully using
the airport property for its intended uses through the construction
of a fence along the west boundary of your property.
I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest
opportunity so that we can move forward with the construction of
the fence as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Chris A. Kukulski
City Manager
City of Kalispell