The rule applies where a business's chosen method of operation, such as self-service displays or customer handling of merchandise, creates a foreseeable recurring risk. The plaintiff need not prove the possessor knew of the specific hazard.
It applies only to conditions arising from the operating method.
Alternative Names:
Mode of Operation Doctrine, Self-Service Rule
Why it Matters?
This rule removes the element that defeats most slip and fall claims, which makes its availability a threshold question. Where recognized, self-service grocery and restaurant environments become substantially harder to defend because duration evidence no longer matters. The limiting principle is that the hazard must arise from the operating method itself, so a leak from a roof is outside the rule even in a self-service store.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What does the mode of operation rule eliminate?
What is the limiting principle?
