Missouri Laws 537.785 – Citation of law — definitions
1. Sections 537.785 and 537.787 may be referred to and cited as the “Business Premises Safety Act”.
2. As used in sections 537.785 and 537.787, the following terms mean:
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 537.785
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
(1) “Business”, any commercial or agricultural enterprise including, but not limited to, sales, services, manufacturing, food service, entertainment, property management or leasing company, or any other entity, whether for profit or not for profit, which owns, operates, or leases property that is open to the public, whether for charge or free of charge, and includes all employees and agents thereof. The term “business” shall not include commercial residential or lodging operations;
(2) “Criminal act”, those offenses specified under chapters 565 to 571;
(3) “Harmful act”, an intentional or reckless offensive bodily contact with another person that has resulted in injury;
(4) “Injury”, any personal injury including, but not limited to, physical injury, sickness, disease, or death and all damages resulting therefrom including, but not limited to, medical expenses, wage loss, and loss of services;
(5) “Person”, any individual who is lawfully on the premises, without regard to the person’s status as an invitee or licensee. The term “person” shall not include employees or agents of the business;
(6) “Premises”, real property in the possession of and under the control of a business;
(7) “Reasonable security measures”, those precautions that a reasonable business owner in such industry would implement in a particular area of the premises to guard against criminal acts or harmful acts based on the condition of the premises and the cost of implementing such precautions.