Experience

Minnesota's New Gun Law Poses Questions
For Business and Property Owners

By Laurie Kindel

Property owners, landlords, tenants and employers should become familiar with the new Minnesota Citizen's Personal Protection Act of 2003 which became effective on May 28, 2003. Among other things, the law imposes new requirements on owners, landlords, tenants and employers who wish to prohibit firearms on their premises. Following are some of the highlights of the new law. If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact a member of Maslon's real estate or insurance team or your legal advisor.

What must a private establishment do to prohibit persons with permits from carrying guns on its premises?
The person or entity that owns, operates, leases or controls a building or structure must make a "reasonable request" that firearms not be brought into the establishment.

What is a "reasonable request" to a person to not bring fire arms into a private establishment?
The "reasonable request" consists of a two-part procedure:

• Posting of Notice First, a conspicuous sign must be prominently posted at every entrance to the establishment containing the following language:

To be "conspicuous," a posting must use black letters in arial typeface that are at least 1-1/2 inches in height, set against a bright contrasting background that is at least 187 square inches in area (for example, 11" x 17").

To be "prominent," a posting must be readily visible and within four feet laterally of the entrance, and the bottom of the sign must be at a height of four to six feet above the floor.

• Additional Notice Secondly, the establishment or a designated individual must "personally inform" each person entering the establishment of the posted request and demand compliance.

What happens if a person with a permit to carry a firearm disregards the reasonable request to not bring firearms into an establishment?
If a person carrying a firearm with a permit remains on the premises after receiving a reasonable request that firearms not be brought in, the person may be ordered to leave. Failure to comply is a petty misdemeanor punishable by a fine for the first offense of up to $25.

What restrictions may be imposed on the possession of firearms in a parking facility or parking area?
None. The owner or operator of a private establishment may not prohibit the lawful carrying or possession of firearms in parking facilities or a parking area.

What may landlords do to restrict people from carrying or possessing firearms on rental property?
Nothing. A landlord may not restrict the lawful carrying or possession of firearms by tenants or their guests.

Employment issues to consider:
Property owners, landlords, and tenants may legally adopt separate policies that restrict their employees from carrying firearms on the job, even if an employee has a permit.

What are the risks of allowing people to carry concealed weapons onto your business premises? Business owners/operators have an affirmative duty to protect people coming onto the property from both: A) dangers that are known to the owner/operator; and B) dangers that the owner/operator might discover with reasonable care.

Some may argue that if a firearm injures someone, a business owner who allowed the gun to be brought onto the premises may be liable for negligence because the owner/operator knew of the potential danger of allowing firearms on the property.

On the other hand, some may also argue that a business owner who restricts guns on the premises could be held liable for negligence for preventing a person from defending him or herself. One way to minimize this risk is to draft and implement a policy regarding guns on the premises. If a business has a well-drafted policy that is consistently enforced, this will decrease the likelihood that the business will be held liable for negligence.

Things to consider in developing and implementing a policy on concealed weapons are:
• Is alcohol sold, used, or consumed on the premises?
• Are drugs (prescription or otherwise) sold, used, or consumed on the premises?
• Is the business in an area of high crime?
• Have there been other instances of violence on the premises?
• Are there large sums of money (currency) or other valuables on the premises?
• Are there people who will not be able to read and understand posted signs? (i.e., people who are not fluent in English, who have a disability, etc.)

Does insurance cover the liability created by allowing (or not allowing) firearms on your premises?
Insurance policies may or may not cover losses attributable to firearms on your premises, depending on the exclusions in the policy. There have been reports that at least one insurance company has declined to sell liability insurance to businesses that permit guns on their premises.

• Firearms Exclusion
Some policies may exclude bodily injuries arising out of the use or ownership of any firearm. If your policy has this type of exclusion, you may want to try negotiating its removal.

• Intentional/expected Acts Exclusion
General liability policies cover losses for bodily injury as well as property damage. Many of these policies will not provide coverage for actions that were intentional or expected by the insured. Whether an act is intentional or expected can turn on the issue of whether the consequence was foreseeable. The more foreseeable the consequence, the more likely the act was intentional or expected.

If a person were to sustain bodily injury from a gun, an insurance company might deny the claim if the business permitted guns on the premises. The insurance company would argue that by allowing guns on the premises, the insured acted intentionally or should have expected that someone would be injured.

	Laurie Kindel serves clients in the areas of insurance coverage disputes, insurance counseling, and products liability. She was most recently Senior Corporate Counsel at St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company, providing coverage analysis and product development counsel to underwriters.
	Maslon labor and employment lawyer, Howard Tarkow, contributed to this article. If you have questions concerning employment issues related to the new gun law, please contact Howard at 612/672-8348 or howard.tarkow@maslon.com.