South Carolina S 1008: Negligent Security

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 1008 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 12, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 1008

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING ARTICLE 
3 TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 27, SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS RELATED TO NEGLIGENT SECURITY; 
TO PROVIDE THAT AN OWNER OR OCCUPIER SHALL BE HELD LIABLE FOR NEGLIGENT 
SECURITY ARISING FROM ANY INJURY SUSTAINED BY A PERSON UPON THE OWNER OR 
OCCUPIER'S PREMISES IF THE PLAINTIFF PROVES THE INJURY WAS FORESEEABLE AND 
OTHER FACTS; TO PROVIDE SITUATIONS IN WHICH AN OWNER OR OCCUPIER SHALL BE HELD 
LIABLE FOR NEGLIGENT SECURITY SUSTAINED BY ANY PERSON UPON THE PREMISES BY A 
THIRD PERSON; TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT NO OWNER OR OCCUPIER IS 
REQUIRED TO EXERCISE EXTRAORDINARY CARE TO KEEP PEOPLE ON THE PREMISES SAFE 
FROM THEIR WRONGFUL CONDUCT; TO PROVIDE STANDARDS OF NEGLIGENT SECURITY FOR 
SECURITY CONTRACTORS; TO OUTLINE PROVISIONS FOR TRIAL, LIABILITY, AND RELIEF 
FOR SUITS ARISING FROM NEGLIGENT SECURITY CLAIMS; AND TO LIMIT REMEDIES FOR 
NEGLIGENT SECURITY AGAINST OWNERS AND OCCUPIERS TO THE PROVISIONS IN THIS ACT.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 3, Title 27 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 3

Negligent Security

 Section 
27-3-300. For the purposes of this article:

 (1) 
"Negligent security" means any claim against an owner or occupier, or against a 
security contractor, that:

 (a) 
is actionable in tort or nuisance;

 (b) 
seeks to recover damages for bodily injury or wrongful death; and

 (c) 
arises from an alleged failure to keep the premises and approaches safe from 
the wrongful conduct of third persons.

 (2) 
"Owner or occupier" means any person or entity that owns, leases, occupies, 
operates, maintains, or manages real property of any kind or any director, 
officer, employee, or the person's agent.

 (3) 
"Particularized warning of imminent wrongful conduct" means information 
actually known to an owner or occupier and deemed credible by the owner or 
occupier that causes the owner or occupier to consciously understand that a 
third person is likely to imminently engage in wrongful conduct on the premises 
that poses a clear danger to the safety of persons upon the premises, the 
information is specific regarding the identity of the third person, the nature 
and character of the wrongful conduct, the degree of dangerousness of the 
wrongful conduct, and the location, time, and circumstances of the wrongful 
conduct.

 (4) 
"Premises" means the real property, including any attached buildings or 
structures, that is owned, leased, occupied, operated, maintained, or managed 
by an owner or occupier.

 (5) 
"Prior occurrences of substantially similar wrongful conduct" means prior 
occurrences of wrongful conduct that are sufficiently similar in nature and 
character, degree of dangerousness, proximity, location, time, and 
circumstances to the wrongful conduct from which a claim of negligent security 
arises to lead a reasonable person in the position of the owner or occupier to believe 
that the wrongful conduct is reasonably likely to occur upon the premises, to 
understand the risk of injury to persons upon the premises presented by the 
wrongful conduct, and to understand that a specific and known physical 
condition of the premises has created a risk of the wrongful conduct on the 
premises that is substantially greater than the general risk of such wrongful 
conduct in the vicinity of the premises.

 (6) 
"Security contractor" means any person that contracts with an owner or occupier 
to provide protective or security services upon any premises or for any of the 
person's directors, officers, employees, or agents.

 (7) 
"Third person" means any person other than an owner or occupier, security 
contractor, or a person under the direction, control, or supervision of an 
owner or occupier or security contractor.

 (8) 
"Wrongful conduct" means:

 (a) 
any conduct that is punishable as a felony or misdemeanor regardless of whether 
the violation results in an arrest, citation, accusation, indictment, or 
conviction; or

 (b) 
any conduct that constitutes an intentional tort or a wilful, wanton, or 
reckless tort.

 Section 
27-3-310. An owner or occupier shall be liable for 
negligent security arising from any injury sustained by any person upon the 
premises of the owner or occupier as an invitee if the plaintiff proves that:

 (1) the 
wrongful conduct by a third person that caused the injury sustained by the 
invitee was reasonably foreseeable because the owner or occupier:

 (a) 
had particularized warning of imminent wrongful conduct by a third person; or

 (b) 
reasonably should have known that a third person was reasonably likely to 
engag