Court: Property Management Company Shall Assume 50% of the Liability for Compensation according to Degree of Fault

[Case Review]

One evening in June 2019, Xu, who worked as a cleaner in a certain housing estate, was off work. She rode a bicycle, and when she reached the gate of the housing estate, she saw that there were no vehicles going in and out, and the security guard operated the automatic traffic barriers to let the non-motor vehicles exit. She was ready to exit the housing estate from the motor vehicle lane with the automatic traffic barriers, just like everyone else. Unexpectedly, as soon as the car in front exited, the automatic traffic barriers began to fall. Xu followed the car and forced forward, trying to pass quickly, but the automatic traffic barriers quickly fell down, and Xu on bicycle fell heavily to the ground and into a coma on the spot. Upon seeing this, the security guard on the side quickly operated the remote control in his hand to raise the automatic traffic barriers and immediately called the police. Xu¡¯s husband following her saw the situation, and quickly called their son to send Xu to the hospital for rescue. Fortunately, with timely treatment and after more than a month of cure and recuperation, Xu had no serious injuries. However, after this incident, the vitality of Xu, who was over 50 years old, was seriously sapped, and she had sequelae of confusion and slow response, so follow-up rehabilitation became necessary. Xu and her family believed that the property management company of the housing estate, as the manager of the automatic traffic barriers, should be responsible for the injury caused to her by the sudden fall of automatic traffic barriers. So Xu and her family demanded that the property management company compensate them for all losses for a total of over RMB 100,000. After the property management company rejected the claim, Xu sued to the court.

The property management company argued that, first, Xu herself was at fault. At the time of the incident, the automatic traffic barriers were in normal operation and there was no malfunction, and Xu was familiar with the road setting of the housing estate. However, Xu tried to exit from the motor vehicle lane to save trouble, and to rush through during the falling of automatic traffic barriers. Xu¡¯s behavior exceeded ordinary people¡¯s expectations. Second, the property management company has fulfilled its obligations of safety protection, and had no fault in the accident. Even if it needed to bear some responsibility, since it has insured itself against public liability, the corresponding compensation should be borne by the insurance company. Third, it entrusted the housing estate¡¯s cleaning services to a cleaning company. The cleaning company hired Xu, who is over aged, in violation of regulations, did not provide qualified safety training or purchase employer liability insurance and accident insurance for her. Therefore, Xu is requested to add the cleaning company as a defendant.

After trial, the Shanghai Songjiang Court held that the entrance to the housing estate has a mixed lane for non-motor vehicles and pedestrians on the right side of the motor vehicle lane for people to exit the housing estate. On the opposite side, there is only a motor vehicle lane. The mixed lane on the right is slightly higher than the motor vehicle lane, and there is a gentle slope in the middle as transition. There are such warning signs as ¡°Do Not Follow Cars¡± on the housing estate¡¯s electronic screen and automatic traffic barriers.

[Case Study]

After trial, the Shanghai Songjiang Court held that Xu had full civil capacity. When she approached the exit, she did not choose the mixed lane for pedestrians and non-motor vehicles, but instead rode straight to the motor vehicle lane. And when the automatic traffic barriers dropped rapidly, Xu failed to slow down or brake in time, which led to the accident. She was at fault for the accident, so she shall bear certain responsibilities. As a relatively special public place manager within the housing estate, the property management company shall bear tort liability based on the degree of fault if it fails to fulfill its obligations of safety protection. The property management company is responsible for the orderly management of the entry and exit of vehicles and personnel of the housing estate and the operation of automatic traffic barriers. Although warning signs are posted on automatic traffic barriers, the property management company has inadequate management of facilities and the entry and exit of people. The personnel of the property management company did not effectively prevent non-motor vehicles from passing here, but automatically released the automatic traffic barriers, which was at fault to some degree for the accident. In addition, Xu filed the lawsuit on the basis that the property management company failed to fulfill its obligations of safety protection and claimed that the property management company should bear tort liability. She is not pursuing the responsibility of the employer, the cleaning company, and the insurance contract relationship claimed by the property management company is not within the scope of the case. In summary, considering the fault of Xu and the property management company, on the basis of determining that Xu¡¯s losses totaled over RMB 40,000, the court ruled that the property management company should bear 50% of the liability for compensation.

  The court reminds citizens that automatic traffic barriers are the mechanical lifting of barriers, and are to separate the lanes of motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles. If damage is caused by not following the above traffic rules, as long as there is a fault, the relevant parties shall assume corresponding civil liability.

[Relevant Laws]

1.     Tort Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China

Article 15 The methods of assuming tort liabilities shall include:

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(6) compensation for losses;

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Article 16 Where a tort causes any personal injury to another person, the tortfeasor shall compensate the victim for the reasonable costs and expenses for treatment and rehabilitation, such as medical treatment expenses, nursing fees and travel expenses, as well as the lost wages. If the victim suffers any disability, the tortfeasor shall also pay the costs of disability assistance equipment for the living of the victim and the disability indemnity. If it causes the death of the victim, the tortfeasor shall also pay the funeral service fees and the death compensation.

Article 26 Where the victim of a tort is also at fault as to the occurrence of harm, the liability of the tortfeasor may be mitigated.

Article 34 Where an employee of an employer which is an entity causes any harm to another person in the execution of his work duty, the employer shall assume the tort liability.
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Article 37 The manager of a public venue such as hotel, shopping center, bank, station or entertainment place or the organizer of a mass activity shall assume the tort liability for any harm caused to another person as the result of his failure to fulfill the duty of safety protection.
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2.     The Civil Procedure Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China

Article 51 The plaintiff may relinquish or modify its claims. The defendant may admit or repudiate the plaintiff¡¯s claims and shall have the right to file a counterclaim.

Article 253 Where the party against whom enforcement is sought fails to perform any obligation of pecuniary payment during a period specified in a judgment, ruling or any other legal instrument, the party against whom enforcement is sought shall pay double interest for the debt for the period of deferred performance. If the party against whom enforcement is sought fails to perform any other obligation during a period specified in a judgment, ruling or any other legal instrument, the party against whom enforcement is sought shall pay a late fee for deferred performance.¡¡
3. Interpretations of the Supreme People¡¯s Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China¡¡¡¡

Article 90 A party shall provide evidence to prove the facts on which his claims are based or to repudiate the facts on which the claims of the opposing party are based, unless it is otherwise prescribed by any law.

Where a party fails to provide evidence or the evidence provided is insufficient to support his claims before a judgment is entered, the party bearing the burden of proof shall take the adverse consequences.

(Authors: Wang Yanping and Wu Youliang of Shanghai Songjiang Court)