Guide
Negligent security lawsuits against Alabama apartment owners
Alabama sets a high bar for these suits. You still pay to defend one, and your GL policy may not pay it for you.
The short answer
In Alabama, an apartment owner is not automatically liable when a tenant is hurt by a crime on the property. The Alabama Supreme Court has said landlords are generally not liable for third-party crime unless it was reasonably foreseeable. You still pay to defend a suit, and many apartment GL policies exclude or sublimit assault and battery.
General information, not legal, tax, or coverage advice. What's covered depends on your specific policy wording, and the policy controls. Current as of September 2026.
In Alabama, an apartment owner is not automatically liable when a tenant is hurt by a crime on the property. The Alabama Supreme Court has said the general rule is that landlords are not liable for the criminal acts of third persons unless those acts were reasonably foreseeable. Courts have set a high bar, but they have let some cases go to a jury.
Winning on the law does not make the suit free. You defend it either way, and many apartment general liability policies now exclude assault and battery or cap it at a sublimit. That can leave the owner funding the defense, and any judgment, out of pocket.
This guide covers what the courts have said, then what to check in your policy and your records. We are brokers, so the second half is where we can help.
Alabama law
What does Alabama law say about crime on apartment property?
We are insurance brokers, not attorneys. This summary of Alabama law is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't create an attorney–client relationship. Court decisions and statutes change, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case. Current as of September 2026. If you face a claim or a lawsuit, talk to a licensed Alabama attorney.
Start with the default rule. In Moye v. A.G. Gaston Motels, Inc., the Alabama Supreme Court wrote: “It is the general rule in Alabama that absent special relationships or circumstances, a person has no duty to protect another from criminal acts of a third person.” Moye v. A.G. Gaston Motels, Inc., 499 So. 2d 1368, 1370 (Ala. 1986).
The exception is narrow. Moye explained the Court's requirement that the particular criminal conduct be foreseeable and that the defendant have “specialized knowledge” that “criminal activity which could endanger an invitee was a probability.” Moye, 499 So. 2d at 1372.
In Carroll v. Shoney's, Inc., a restaurant employee was shot by her estranged husband at work. The Court affirmed summary judgment for the employer and set out a three-part test:
Part 1
The crime was foreseeable
The particular criminal conduct must have been foreseeable, not crime in general.
Part 2
The owner had specialized knowledge
The defendant must have possessed “specialized knowledge” of the criminal activity.
Part 3
The crime was a probability
The criminal conduct must have been a probability, not just a possibility.
The Court's words: “First, the particular criminal conduct must have been foreseeable. Second, the defendant must have possessed ‘specialized knowledge’ of the criminal activity. Third, the criminal conduct must have been a probability.” Carroll v. Shoney's, Inc., 775 So. 2d 753, 756 (Ala. 2000).
Two cases
Is one prior incident enough to make an owner liable?
Not in the case where the Court looked at exactly that. Two apartment cases show how different facts led to different results.
Dailey v. Housing Authority, 639 So. 2d 1343, 1347 (Ala. 1994)
Facts. A tenant was shot and killed on her apartment porch during a gunfight in an adjoining parking lot. The complex had 920 apartments. There had been one prior shooting on the premises, tenants had reported drug sales, and internal documents described a crime problem.
Holding. The Alabama Supreme Court held that on those facts the plaintiffs had not shown the owner had a duty to protect the tenant, and affirmed judgment for the housing authority. The Court also declined to treat hiring a security guard as taking on a duty to provide a crime-free environment.
Brock v. Watts Realty Co., 582 So. 2d 438, 440 (Ala. 1991)
Facts. A tenant was stabbed to death in her apartment. Her estate alleged the back-door lock was faulty, that she had submitted two service requests to have it repaired, and that the landlord never repaired the lock or acknowledged the requests. The estate pointed to two Birmingham Housing Code ordinances on maintaining door locks.
Holding. The Court held those ordinances created a duty to maintain the locks in working condition, regardless of prior similar incidents in the area. It reversed summary judgment for the landlord because whether the killer actually entered through that door was a fact question for a jury. The Court added that its holding was limited to the facts of that case.
Brock restated the default: “The general rule in Alabama is that landlords and businesses are not liable for the criminal acts of third persons unless such acts were reasonably foreseeable.” Brock, 582 So. 2d at 440.
The difference between the two is the kind of fact involved. Dailey turned on general reports of crime across a large complex. Brock involved a specific defective condition in the tenant's own apartment, a repair request, and a housing code. Dailey itself distinguished Brock on that ground.
Hail v. Regency Terrace Owners Ass'n, a condominium fire case, addressed prior incidents directly. The Court said prior criminal incidents “can indicate” notice, but “proof of prior criminal acts does not conclusively establish such notice.” Hail v. Regency Terrace Owners Ass'n, 782 So. 2d 1271, 1274 (Ala. 1999).
We are not predicting how any case comes out. The point for an owner is narrower. Facts about a specific known problem at your property, and what you did about it, are the kind of facts these cases discuss.
Other rules
What else shapes these claims in Alabama?
Wrongful death damages. In a wrongful death action, the Alabama Supreme Court has said “the damages recoverable in a wrongful death action are punitive in nature.” Tatum v. Schering Corp., 523 So. 2d 1042, 1045 (Ala. 1988). That is a point to raise with your attorney and your insurer, because how a policy treats punitive damages varies.
Contributory negligence. Alabama has not adopted comparative negligence. In Golden v. McCurry, the Court held that any change to the contributory negligence rule should be left to the legislature. Golden v. McCurry, 392 So. 2d 815, 817 (Ala. 1980). In Rowden v. Tomlinson, the Court explained that contributory negligence is “a complete defense to an action based on negligence,” though it is “not a defense to a claim based on wanton misconduct.” Rowden v. Tomlinson, 538 So. 2d 15, 18 (Ala. 1988).
Filing deadline. The statute of limitations is two years for personal injury (Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l)) and two years for wrongful death (Ala. Code § 6-5-410(d)).
Your policy
What does Alabama law change about your insurance?
Alabama starts from no duty to protect against a third party's crime, and the exception needs specialized knowledge that crime was a probability. That puts weight on what your team knew. Your internal crime reports and emails are the record of it. Dailey found them insufficient on its facts, but they are where a plaintiff will look for the knowledge that creates a duty.
A known, unrepaired condition is the other route. In Brock, a door lock left unrepaired after two service requests, in violation of the Birmingham housing code, created a duty regardless of prior crimes, though the Court limited that holding to its facts. That is why maintenance-request records are the ones to keep complete and dated.
Contributory negligence is a complete defense to negligence in Alabama but not to wantonness (Rowden), so how a suit is pleaded shapes the defense, and you fund that defense either way. For the questions to put to your broker, see the hub's policy checklist and records list.
Related reading: multifamily and apartment insurance, the national negligent security guide, our Florida and Georgia guides, lender insurance requirements, and claims strategy.
FAQ
Common questions about negligent security claims
Is a landlord liable for crime on the property in Alabama?
Not automatically. The Alabama Supreme Court has said the general rule is that landlords and businesses are not liable for the criminal acts of third persons unless those acts were reasonably foreseeable (Brock v. Watts Realty Co., 582 So. 2d 438, 440 (Ala. 1991)). Whether a particular owner is liable depends on the facts and is a question for a lawyer.
Does one prior shooting make an apartment owner liable?
Not by itself. In Dailey v. Housing Authority, 639 So. 2d 1343, 1347 (Ala. 1994), the Court held that one prior shooting on the premises, along with tenant reports of drug sales, did not meet the plaintiff's burden of showing a duty on those facts. In Hail v. Regency Terrace Owners Ass'n, 782 So. 2d 1271, 1274 (Ala. 1999), the Court said prior criminal acts can indicate notice but do not conclusively establish it.
How long does someone have to file a suit?
Alabama's statute of limitations is two years for personal injury (Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l)) and two years for wrongful death (§ 6-5-410(d)). A lawyer can tell you how those apply to a specific claim.
Can adding security guards increase my liability?
In Dailey, the Court said it hesitated to penalize a landlord for providing private security by then holding the landlord responsible for any crime on the premises, and it refused to hold that hiring a guard assumed a duty to provide a crime-free environment. That was one case on its facts. Talk to your attorney about your own situation.
Can a known broken door lock create a duty in Alabama?
In Brock v. Watts Realty Co., 582 So. 2d 438 (Ala. 1991), a tenant alleged she submitted two service requests to repair a faulty back-door lock and the landlord never repaired it. The Court held that Birmingham housing code ordinances on door locks created a duty to maintain them, regardless of prior similar incidents in the area. The Court added that its holding was limited to the facts of that case.
Can internal crime reports create a duty to protect tenants?
They can be the evidence of what an owner knew, but they did not establish a duty in Dailey v. Housing Authority, 639 So. 2d 1343 (Ala. 1994). There, one prior shooting, tenant reports of drug sales, and internal documents describing a crime problem at a 920-unit complex were not enough on those facts. Alabama still requires specialized knowledge that the criminal conduct was a probability (Carroll v. Shoney's, Inc., 775 So. 2d 753, 756 (Ala. 2000)).
Does contributory negligence apply to a negligent security claim in Alabama?
Alabama has not adopted comparative negligence. The Court has said contributory negligence is a complete defense to an action based on negligence, but not to a claim based on wanton misconduct (Rowden v. Tomlinson, 538 So. 2d 15, 18 (Ala. 1988)), and that any change is for the legislature (Golden v. McCurry, 392 So. 2d 815, 817 (Ala. 1980)). How it applies to a particular claim is a question for counsel.
Working with us
Find the assault and battery gap before a claim does
Alabama's high bar does not cover your defense bills. Send us your GL and umbrella policies and we will show you what they do when a suit is filed anyway.
This article is for general educational purposes only. It isn't legal, tax, accounting, or lending advice and doesn't create a producer–client relationship. Policy terms, exclusions, and availability vary by carrier, state, and property. Only the policy actually issued determines coverage. Regulatory and lender requirements change; confirm current rules with your attorney, lender, or servicer before relying on anything here.
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