A homeowner is not generally responsible for supervising a child invited to the property if the child is accompanied and supervised by a parent. But the homeowner can assume a duty to supervise by agreeing to do so. Here, the homeowner initially agreed to supervise a visiting child, but then relinquished that duty when the child’s grandparent arrived and took over the duty. By delegating the duty to supervise the child to the grandparent, the homeowner relieved himself of the duty to supervise the child and thus was not liable when the child drowned in the swimming pool due to the grandparent’s inattention. The homeowner was also not liable on a premises liability theory as nothing about the way the swimming pool was built or maintained contributed to the drowning.
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 4 (Manella, J.); July 27, 2017; 2017 WL 3187388