Rucker, J.
Patrons injured after a shooting in a neighborhood bar sued the bar for negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment in the bar’s favor concluding it owed no duty to the patrons because the shooting was not foreseeable as a matter of law. For the reasons that follow we agree and affirm.
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At least part of the confusion in this area of the law is grounded in the fact that for most negligence actions foreseeability is a component of proximate causation only. See, e.g., Best Homes, Inc. v. Rainwater, 714 N.E.2d 702, 706 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999) (noting “[p]roximate cause is an essential element of a negligence claim”); Control Techniques, Inc. v. Johnson, 762 N.E.2d 104, 108 (Ind. 2002) (observing “[w]hether or not proximate cause exists is primarily a question of foreseeability”). And in the context of evaluating proximate causation our courts have long held that foreseeability is a question of fact for the jury to decide. See, e.g., Johnson, 762 N.E.2d at 109 (noting “the jury is . . . required to decide whether an actor’s negligence was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury”); see also Humphery v. Duke Energy Ind., Inc., 916 N.E.2d 287, 295 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (noting “it is for a jury to determine whether it was reasonably foreseeable that a collision could occur at [a particular] intersection resulting in the type of harm suffered by [the victim]”). But in the case before us foreseeability is not only a component of the proximate cause element of negligence, it is also a component of the duty element of negligence as well. And, we repeat for emphasis, whether a duty exists is a question of law for the court to decide. Yost v. Wabash College, 3 N.E.3d 509, 515 (Ind. 2014).
In sum, because foreseeability is—in this particular negligence action—a component of duty, and because whether a duty exists is a question of law for the court to decide, the court must of necessity determine whether the criminal act at issue here was foreseeable. This is not a “redetermination” of the duty a landowner owes its invitees. Rather, the focus is on the point and manner in which we evaluate whether foreseeability does or does not exist. See Bartolini, 799 N.E.2d at 1053. And that point initially rests with the trial court as gatekeeper.
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Having concluded that as a component of duty, foreseeability must be determined by the court, we must answer the question, how does the court undertake this determination? Not surprisingly there is conflict in our opinions on this issue as well…
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But because almost any outcome is possible and can be foreseen, the mere fact that a particular outcome is “sufficiently likely” is not enough to give rise to a duty. Instead, for purposes of determining whether an act is foreseeable in the context of duty we assess “whether there is some probability or likelihood of harm that is serious enough to induce a reasonable person to take precautions to avoid it.” Satterfield, 266 S.W.3d at 367.
So, where does this leave the “totality of the circumstances” tests we endorsed in Delta Tau Delta which requires an examination of “all of the circumstances surrounding an event, including the nature, condition, and location of the land, as well as prior similar incidents”? 712 N.E.2d at 972. With its broad applicability and higher burden of proof this test is certainly appropriate as a useful guide to the fact-finder in determining foreseeability in the context of proximate cause. But, precisely because this test focuses on the particular facts of the case rather than a broader inquiry, it is ill-suited to determine foreseeability in the context of duty. With the foregoing framework in mind we turn to the merits of the case before us.
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The broad type of plaintiff here is a patron of a bar and the harm is the probability or likelihood of a criminal attack, namely: a shooting inside a bar. But even engaging in a “lesser inquiry” we conclude that although bars can often set the stage for rowdy behavior, we do not believe that bar owners routinely contemplate that one bar patron might suddenly shoot another. To be sure, we doubt there exists a neighborhood anywhere in this State which is entirely crimefree. Thus, in the broadest sense, all crimes anywhere are “foreseeable.”9 But to impose a blanket duty on proprietors to afford protection to their patrons would make proprietors insurers of their patrons’ safety which is contrary to the public policy of this state. See Delta Tau Delta, 712 N.E.2d at 971. Further such a blanket duty would abandon the notion of liability based on negligence and enter the realm of strict liability in tort which “assumes no negligence of the actor, but chooses to impose liability anyway.” Cook v. Whitsell-Sherman, 796 N.E.2d 271, 276 (Ind. 2003). We decline to impose such liability here. In sum we hold that a shooting inside a neighborhood bar is not foreseeable as a matter of law.
Conclusion
In a negligence action, whether a duty exists is a question of law for the court to decide. And in those instances where foreseeability is an element of duty, this necessarily means the court must determine the question of foreseeability as a matter of law. When doing so the court is tasked with engaging in a general analysis of the broad type of plaintiff and harm involved without regard to the facts of the actual occurrence. Here, focusing on the facts of this case, the trial court employed a now-discarded analytical tool in determining the question of foreseeability. But we review questions of law de novo. Engaging in such review we conclude the trial court properly granted summary judgment in the Bar’s favor. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment.
Rush, C.J., and David, Massa and Slaughter, JJ., concur.