Guiding Case No. 140: Li Qiuyue et al v. Hongshan Village Village Committee of Timian Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou City for breach of security obligations

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Guidance Case 140

　　(Approved by the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on October 9, 2020)

　　keyword  Civil/security obligations/Public places/Damages

　　Points of judgment

　　The security obligations of the managers of public places shall be limited to a reasonable limit and shall be compatible with their management and control capabilities。If a person with full capacity for civil conduct accidentally falls and causes damage to himself by climbing the fruit trees in the scenic area to pick fruit without permission, and claims that the management should bear the liability for compensation, the people's court will not support it。

　　Relevant law

　　Article 37 (1) of the Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China

　　Basic case

　　Hongshan Village scenic spot for the national AAA tourist scenic spot, no tickets。The Villagers' Committee of Hongshan Village, Timian Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province (hereinafter referred to as Hongshan Village Villagers' Committee) is the owner of the arbutus trees beside the Lover's Di River in the scenic spot, and it does not provide free arbutus picking activities for villagers or tourists。On the afternoon of May 19, 2017, Wu went up to the tree to pick bayberries accidentally fell from the tree and was injured。Subsequently, some villagers sent Wu to the Hongshan Village infirmary, but there were no personnel in the infirmary at that time。Some villagers called 120, but 120 ambulance did not arrive。After Hongshan village villagers Li Mou 1 drove Wu to Guangzhou Huadu District Timian town hospital treatment。Wu was transferred to Guangzhou Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine for treatment on the same day, and died on the same day due to ineffective rescue。

　　Hongshan Village held a meeting on January 26, 2014 to vote on the "Hongshan Village Rules and Regulations"，Article 2 of the village rules stipulates that each villager should consciously safeguard the property interests of the village collective，Every villager should urge their children to consciously maintain the village's various public facilities and green trees，If any villagers intentionally damage or damage public facilities，Be responsible for all expenses。

　　Wu, a native of Hongshan Village, was born in 1957。Li Jikun is Wu's spouse, and Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, and Li Tiantuo are Wu's children。Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, Li Tiantuo and Li Jikun sued the court, claiming that the village Committee of Hongshan Village had failed to fulfill its security obligations, and that the defendant had failed to take timely and necessary rescue measures after the accident in this case, and should bear responsibility for Wu's death。Request for an order that the defendant be liable for 70% of personal damage 631346.31元。

　　verdict

　　On December 22, 2017, Huadu District People's Court of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province made (2017) Guangdong 0114 Civil judgment No. 6921 in the Early Republic of China: 1. The Villagers' Committee of Hongshan Village, Timien Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou, compensated the plaintiff Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, Li Tiantuo and Li Jikun 45096.17 yuan, to be paid within 10 days from the date on which this judgment takes legal effect;2. Reject other claims of the plaintiffs Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, Li Tiantuo and Li Jikun。After the verdict, Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, Li Tiantuo, Li Jikun and the village committee of Hongshan Village, Timian Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou, all lodged appeals。On April 16, 2018, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province issued civil judgment No. 4942 (2018) Yue 01 Min End: The appeal was rejected and the original judgment was upheld。After the second instance judgment took effect, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province made a civil ruling (2019) Yue01 Civil Supervision No. 4 on November 14, 2019, to retry the case。The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province issued Civil Judgment No. (2019) Yue 01 Minzai 273 on January 20, 2020:1. Revoke the Civil Judgment No. (2018) Yue 01 Minzai 4942 of the Court and the civil judgment No. (2017) Yue 0114 Minchu 6921 of the Huadu District People's Court of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province;2. Reject the claims of Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, Li Tiantuo and Li Jikun。

　　Reason for judgment

　　The effective judgment of the court held that: the focus of the dispute in this case is whether the villagers committee of Hongshan Village should be liable for compensation for the consequences of Wu's damage。

　　First of all, the Hongshan Village Village Committee did not violate its security obligations。As the manager of the Hongshan Village scenic spot, the village committee of Hongshan Village has the obligation to ensure the safety of tourists from damage, but the determination of the content of the safety guarantee obligation should be limited to the reasonable scope of the management and control ability of the scenic spot manager。Hongshan Village scenic spot is an open scenic spot, does not provide villagers or tourists to pick arbutus activities, arbutus tree itself has no safety risks, if the villagers committee of Hongshan Village to enclose all trees in the landscape area, set up warning signs or take other protective measures, obviously exceed the good manager's attention standards。From the perspective of caring for public property and civilized travel, villagers or tourists should not climb trees to pick arbutus privately。Wu, as an adult with full capacity for civil conduct, should fully foresee the danger of climbing the bayberry tree to pick the bayberry and consciously avoid such dangerous behavior。Therefore, Li Qiuyue, Li Yueru, Li Tiantuo and Li Jikun argued that the villagers' Committee of Hongshan Village failed to fulfill its security obligations and lacked factual basis。

　　Secondly, Wu's death was caused by his private climbing trees and picking bayberry, and the villagers' committee of Hongshan Village did not have a legal causal relationship。The "Hongshan Village Rules and Regulations" stipulates that villagers should consciously safeguard the property interests of the village collective, including public facilities and greening trees。The village rules and regulations are the code of conduct and moral norms of Hongshan Village villagers, forming the public order and good customs of Hongshan Village。Wu, as a villager of Hongshan Village, climbed trees and picked bayberry privately, which violated the village rules and public order and good customs, resulting in the damage consequences, which do not have a legal causal relationship with the Hongshan Village villagers Committee。

　　At the end, the villagers committee of Hongshan Village is not at fault for the consequences of Wu's private climbing and falling。Wu fell to death was caused by his own negligence, and it was difficult for the villagers committee of Hongshan Village to foresee and prevent Wu from climbing the tree privately。After Wu fell and was injured, Li Mou, director of the village committee of Hongshan Village, called 120 in time for help, and before the ambulance arrived, another villager drove Wu to the hospital for treatment。Therefore, the village committee of Hongshan Village is not at fault for the occurrence of Wu's damage consequences。

　　To sum up, Wu accidentally fell to his death because he climbed trees and picked bayberries, and the consequences were regrettable。Although Hongshan Village is the site of the incident, the arbutus tree is collectively owned by the Hongshan Village villagers' Committee, but Wu's private picking behavior violates the village rules and conventions, and is contrary to the public order and good customs, and the Hongshan Village villagers' committee did not violate the security obligations, and should not be liable for compensation。

　　(Effective judges: Gong Liandi, Zhang Yiyang, LAN Yongjun)