BILL NO A06470
SAME AS No same as
SPONSOR DiPietro (MS)
COSPNSR Giglio, Goodell
MLTSPNSR Raia, Tenney
Amd S9-103, add S9-107, Gen Ob L
Provides that the owner, lessee or occupant of premises owes no duty to keep
the premises safe for entry or use by others performing certain activities,
including recreational activities such as snowmobiling and motorized vehicle
operation for recreational purposes.
BILL NUMBER:A6470
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general obligations law, in
relation to the duty to keep premises safe for certain uses and the
inherent risk for use of off highway recreational vehicles
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To encourage safe and proper use of
snowmobiles and other off highway recreational vehicles as well as to
encourage owners of large tracts of land to make such lands available
to the public for recreational activities instead of posting such
lands and prohibiting their use.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: This bill amends S 9-103 of the
General Obligations Law to add a "catch-all" provision to the list of
enumerated recreational activities to which an owner, lessee, or
occupant of land owes no duty to keep premises safe for entry or use
by others. In addition, the recreational activities of "snowmobiling"
and "motorized vehicle operation for recreational activities purposes"
which were enumerated in S 9-103 have been removed due to the addition
of S 9-105. This bill also amends the General Obligations Law by
adding a new S 9-105 to create an "inherent risk" statute with regard
to the use of "off highway recreational vehicles" (OHRV). The statute
would establish that the activity in which the OHRV user is engaging
in is inherently dangerous and likely to cause injury. As a result,
the user engages in this activity at their own risk and no cause of
action shall accrue against an owner, lessee, or occupant of land. It
should be noted, that this new section would not limit liability for
an injury suffered where permission to pursue OHRV activities was
granted for a consideration or for injuries caused by willful or
malicious acts performed by an owner, lessee, or occupant of land.
JUSTIFICATION: The existing law, S 9-103 of the General Obligations
Law was designed to protect land owners from law suits in the event
they opened their land for recreational purposes by limiting the
landowners liability. However, landowners have been sued regularly
and have had to defend these lawsuits up to the stage of summary
judgement or beyond to determine if they are protected under S 9-103
given the factual context of the accident. This bill would enact as an
"inherent risk" statute, similar to other states, that would
specifically state that snowmobiling and other off highway
recreational vehicles are inherently dangerous and likely to cause
injury. The statute warns that those who engage in such activities do
so at their own risk and that no cause of action shall accrue against
an owner, lessee, or occupant of land. Currently, there is no such
provision under New York law stating the inherent risk of these
activities.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.6572 of 2009-10 Died in Judiciary Committee A.5099 of 2007-08 Died
in Judiciary Committee A.6298 of 2005-06 Died in Judiciary Committee
A.3905 of 2003-04 Died in Judiciary Committee
A.4593 of 2001-02 Died in Judiciary Committee
A.4378 of 1999-00 Held in Judiciary Committee A6009 of 2011-12 held
for consideration in judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: This bill will not have a direct fiscal impact
upon local governments or the state. However, by encouraging
landowners to open up their land for recreational activities there
will likely be an economic boost associated with an increase in such
activities including but not limited to employment, sales of
equipment, tax revenues, as well as hotel and motel patronage.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
