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H.B. 11 Enrolled

    

LIMITATION OF LANDOWNER LIABILITY AMENDMENTS

    
1997 GENERAL SESSION

    
STATE OF UTAH

    
Sponsor: Daniel H. Tuttle

    AN ACT RELATING TO LANDOWNER LIABILITY; AMENDING PROVISIONS ON
    DEFINITIONS AND LIMITED LIABILITY; AND MAKING TECHNICAL
    CORRECTIONS.
    This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
    AMENDS:
         57-14-1, as last amended by Chapter 162, Laws of Utah 1987
         57-14-2, as last amended by Chapter 162, Laws of Utah 1987
         57-14-3, as enacted by Chapter 129, Laws of Utah 1979
         57-14-4, as enacted by Chapter 129, Laws of Utah 1979
         57-14-5, as enacted by Chapter 129, Laws of Utah 1979
         57-14-6, as last amended by Chapter 158, Laws of Utah 1988
         57-14-7, as enacted by Chapter 129, Laws of Utah 1979
    Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 57-14-1 is amended to read:
         57-14-1. Legislative purpose.
        The purpose of this act is to encourage public and private owners of land to make land and
    water areas available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting [their] the owners' liability
    toward persons entering [thereon] the land and water areas for those purposes.
        Section 2. Section 57-14-2 is amended to read:
         57-14-2. Definitions.
        As used in this [act] chapter:
        (1) "Land" means any land within the territorial limits of the state of Utah and includes
    roads, water, water courses, private ways and buildings, structures, and machinery or equipment
    when attached to the realty.
        (2) "Owner" includes the possessor of any interest in the land, whether public or private

    land, a tenant, a lessor, a lessee, and an occupant or person in control of the premises.
        (3) "Recreational purpose" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following or any
    combination thereof: hunting, fishing, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing, camping, picnicking, hiking,
    studying nature, waterskiing, engaging in water sports, using boats, mountain biking, using
    off-highway vehicles or recreational vehicles, and viewing or enjoying historical, archaeological,
    scenic, or scientific sites.
        (4) "Charge" means the admission price or fee asked in return for permission to enter or go
    upon the land.
        (5) "Person" includes any person, regardless of age, maturity, or experience, who enters upon
    or uses land for recreational purposes.
        Section 3. Section 57-14-3 is amended to read:
         57-14-3. Owner owes no duty of care or duty to give warning -- Exceptions.
        Except as [specifically] provided in Subsections 57-14-6(1) and (2) [of Section 57-14-6], an
    owner of land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for entry or use by any person entering
    or using the premises for any recreational purpose[,] or to give any warning of a dangerous
    condition, use, structure, or activity on those premises to [those persons] that person.
        Section 4. Section 57-14-4 is amended to read:
         57-14-4. Owner's permitting another to use land without charge -- Effect.
        Except as [specifically] provided in Subsection 57-14-6(1) [of Section 57-14-6], an owner
    of land who either directly or indirectly invites or permits without charge or for a nominal fee of not
    more than $1 per year any person to use the land for any recreational purpose does not thereby:
        (1) make any representation or extend any assurance that the premises are safe for any
    purpose;
        (2) confer upon the person the legal status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care
    is owed;
        (3) assume responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to persons or property caused
    by an act or omission of the person or any other person who enters upon the land; or
        (4) owe any duty to curtail [his] the owner's use of his land during its use for recreational

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    purposes.
        Section 5. Section 57-14-5 is amended to read:
         57-14-5. Land leased to state or political subdivision for recreational purposes.
        Unless otherwise agreed in writing, [the provisions of] Sections 57-14-3 and 57-14-4 [of this
    act] are applicable to the duties and liability of an owner of land leased to the state or any subdivision
    [thereof] of the state for recreational purposes.
        Section 6. Section 57-14-6 is amended to read:
         57-14-6. Liability not limited where willful or malicious conduct involved.
        (1) Nothing in this act shall limit any liability which otherwise exists for:
        (a) willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use, structure,
    or activity;
        (b) deliberate, willful, or malicious injury to persons or property; or
        (c) an injury suffered where the owner of land charges a person to enter or go on the land
    or use the land for any recreational purpose, except [that where] if the land is leased to the state or
    a subdivision of the state, any consideration received by the owner for the lease is not a charge
    within the meaning of this section.
        (2) Any person who hunts upon a posted hunting unit, as authorized by Title 23, Chapter 23,
    is not considered to have paid a fee within the meaning of this section.
        Section 7. Section 57-14-7 is amended to read:
         57-14-7. Person using land of another not relieved from duty to exercise care.
        [Nothing in this act shall] This chapter may not be construed to relieve any person, using the
    land of another for recreational purposes, from any obligation which [he] the person may have in the
    absence of this act to exercise care in [his] use of the land and in [his] activities thereon, or from the
    legal consequences of failure to employ [such] care.

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