Brief Description: Providing limited liability immunity for injuries at bovine handling facilities.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Kretz, Haler and Holmquist).

House Committee on Judiciary
Senate Committee on Judiciary

Background:

Negligence is a type of tort liability based on damages caused by another person's failure to exercise reasonable care. A person who has been injured by another may bring a civil action to recover damages caused by the injury. The plaintiff in a case for negligence must establish four things: (1) the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; (2) the defendant breached that duty; (3) the breach was a proximate cause of the injury; and (4) the plaintiff suffered personal injury or property damage.

There are numerous statutory provisions that provide some form of immunity from negligence liability to certain persons or entities. For example, the equine activity immunity statute generally provides immunity to equine professionals and organizations or facilities (such as riding clubs, 4-H clubs, stables, and fairs) for injuries caused to participants in equine activities (such as shows, fairs, rodeos, riding lessons, or hunts). The equine activity immunity does not apply in certain exceptions, including where the injury was caused by an intentional act or resulted from a wilful or wanton disregard for the person's safety, or where there was a known dangerous latent condition that was not conspicuously posted with a warning sign.

Summary:

Partial immunity is provided to an owner, operator, or manager of a bovine handling facility, and the owner of bovine handled at a bovine handling facility, for personal injuries or death to a person who, knowingly and voluntarily, participates in bovine handling activities or enters the premises as a spectator of bovine handling activities.

The immunity does not apply if the injury or death was caused by an intentional act or an act or omission amounting to wilful and wanton disregard for the safety of the participant or spectator, or if the injury or death resulted from a known dangerous latent condition for which conspicuous warning signs were not posted.

"Bovine handling facility" means a cooperative, not-for-profit, outdoor facility, such as a corral, that is used for the normal and customary handling and husbandry of bovines, and does not include commercial slaughter facilities. "Bovine handling activities" means normal and customary activities associated with the handling and husbandry of bovines.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   98   0
Senate   41   3   (Senate amended)
House   95   0   (House concurred)

Effective: June 7, 2006