Texas Recreational Use Statute

TEXAS STATUTES AND CODES
CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE
TITLE 4: LIABILITY IN TORT
CHAPTER 75. LIMITATION OF LANDOWNERS' LIABILITY

§75.001. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) "Agricultural land" means land that is located in this state and that is suitable for:

(A) use in production of plants and fruits grown for human or animal consumption, or plants grown for the production of fibers, floriculture, viticulture, horticulture, or planting seed;
(B) forestry and the growing of trees for the purpose of rendering those trees into lumber, fiber, or other items used for industrial, commercial, or personal consumption; or
(C) domestic or native farm or ranch animals kept for use or profit.

(2) "Premises" includes land, roads, water, watercourse, private ways, and buildings, structures, machinery, and equipment attached to or located on the land, road, water, watercourse, or private way.
(3) "Recreation" means an activity such as:

(A) hunting;
(B) fishing;
(C) swimming;
(D) boating;
(E) camping;
(F) picnicking;
(G) hiking;
(H) pleasure driving;
(I) nature study, including bird-watching;
(J) cave exploration;
(K) waterskiing and other water sports; or
(L) any other activity associated with enjoying nature or the outdoors.

(4) "Governmental unit" has the meaning assigned by Section 101.001.

HISTORY: Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 62, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 736, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 520, § 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 56, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

§75.002. Liability Limited

(a) An owner, lessee, or occupant of agricultural land:

(1) does not owe a duty of care to a trespasser on the land; and
(2) is not liable for any injury to a trespasser on the land, except for wilful or wanton acts or gross negligence by the owner, lessee, or other occupant of agricultural land.

(b) If an owner, lessee, or occupant of agricultural land gives permission to another or invites another to enter the premises for recreation, the owner, lessee, or occupant, by giving the permission, does not:

(1) assure that the premises are safe for that purpose;
(2) owe to the person to whom permission is granted or to whom the invitation is extended a greater degree of care than is owed to a trespasser on the premises; or
(3) assume responsibility or incur liability for any injury to any individual or property caused by any act of the person to whom permission is granted or to whom the invitation is extended.

(c) If an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property other than agricultural land gives permission to another to enter the premises for recreation, the owner, lessee, or occupant, by giving the permission, does not:

(1) assure that the premises are safe for that purpose;
(2) owe to the person to whom permission is granted a greater degree of care than is owed to a trespasser on the premises; or
(3) assume responsibility or incur liability for any injury to any individual or property caused by any act of the person to whom permission is granted.

(d) Subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall not limit the liability of an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property who has been grossly negligent or has acted with malicious intent or in bad faith.
(e) In this section, "recreation" means, in addition to its meaning under Section 75.001, the following activities only if the activities take place inside a facility owned, operated, or maintained by a municipality:

(1) hockey and in-line hockey; and
(2) skating, in-line skating, roller-skating, skateboarding, and roller-blading.

(f) Subsection (e) limits the liability of a municipality only for those damages arising directly from a recreational activity described in Subsection (e) but does not limit the liability of a municipality for gross negligence or acts conducted in bad faith or with malicious intent.
(g) Any municipality that owns, operates, or maintains a facility in which the recreational activities described in Subsection (e) are conducted shall post and maintain a clearly readable sign in a clearly visible location on or near the building. The sign shall contain the following warning language:

WARNING: TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 75, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE) LIMITS THE LIABILITY OF A MUNICIPALITY THAT OWNS, OPERATES, OR MAINTAINS A FACILITY IN WHICH HOCKEY, IN-LINE HOCKEY, SKATING, IN-LINE SKATING, ROLLER-SKATING, SKATEBOARDING, OR ROLLER-BLADING ARE CONDUCTED FOR DAMAGES ARISING DIRECTLY FROM SUCH RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

HISTORY: Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 62, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 56, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 734, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

§75.003. Application and Effect of Chapter

(a) This chapter does not relieve any owner, lessee, or occupant of real property of any liability that would otherwise exist for deliberate, wilful, or malicious injury to a person or to property.
(b) This chapter does not affect the doctrine of attractive nuisance, except that the doctrine may not be the basis for liability of an owner, lessee, or occupant of agricultural land for any injury to a trespasser over the age of 16 years.
(c) Except for a governmental unit, this chapter applies only to an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property who:

(1) does not charge for entry to the premises;
(2) charges for entry to the premises, but whose total charges collected in the previous calendar year for all recreational use of the entire premises of the owner, lessee, or occupant are not more than:

(A) twice the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on the premises for the previous calendar year; or
(B) four times the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on the premises for the previous calendar year, in the case of agricultural land; or

(3) has liability insurance coverage in effect on an act or omission described by Section 75.004(a) and in the amounts equal to or greater than those provided by that section.

(d) This chapter does not create any liability.
(e) Except as otherwise provided, this chapter applies to a governmental unit.
(f) This chapter does not waive sovereign immunity.
(g) To the extent that this chapter limits the liability of a governmental unit under circumstances in which the governmental unit would be liable under Chapter 101, this chapter controls.
(h) In the case of agricultural land, an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property who does not charge for entry to the premises because the individuals entering the premises for recreation are invited social guests satisfies the requirement of Subsection (c)(1).

HISTORY: Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 832, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 62, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 520, § 2, eff. Aug. 28, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 56, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

§75.004. Limitation on Monetary Damages for Private Landowners

(a) Subject to Subsection (b), the liability of an owner, lessee, or occupant of agricultural land used for recreational purposes for an act or omission by the owner, lessee, or occupant relating to the premises that results in damages to a person who has entered the premises is limited to a maximum amount of $500,000 for each person and $1 million for each single occurrence of bodily injury or death and $100,000 for each single occurrence for injury to or destruction of property. In the case of agricultural land, the total liability of an owner, lessee, or occupant for a single occurrence is limited to $1 million, and the liability also is subject to the limits for each single occurrence of bodily injury or death and each single occurrence for injury to or destruction of property stated in this subsection.
(b) This section applies only to an owner, lessee, or occupant of agricultural land used for recreational purposes who has liability insurance coverage in effect on an act or omission described by Subsection (a) and in the amounts equal to or greater than those provided by Subsection (a). The coverage may be provided under a contract of insurance or other plan of insurance authorized by statute. The limit of liability insurance coverage applicable with respect to agricultural land may be a combined single limit in the amount of $1 million for each single occurrence.
(c) This section does not affect the liability of an insurer or insurance plan in an action under Article 21.21, Insurance Code, or an action for bad faith conduct, breach of fiduciary duty, or negligent failure to settle a claim.
(d) This section does not apply to a governmental unit.

HISTORY: Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 520, § 3, eff. Aug. 28, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 56, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Text of Code also available at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/ci/ci007500toc.html on 11/19/00.

HAVE YOU BEEN THE TARGET OF A SCAM LATELY? DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!

AUGUST 20TH, 2008 - BROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA

If you are not on your toes all of time, you could be the target of a scam or con. Last evening while filling up with gas at QT in Broken Arrow a blue PT Cruiser pulled across in front of my truck. A casually dressed black man stepped out and in a hushed voice asked if I was interested in buying a laptop computer. He proceeded to tell me he had three or four of these for sale for $250 each. Claiming they were brand new Sony Vaio laptops. My first question was "Are they hot?" and I informed him I wasn't interested. He pressed on asking if I would pay $200, then $150. "I don't buy merchandise from the trunk of a car" I informed him. He then asked how much I would be willing to pay, and went back to his car, retrieving a package from the back seat that appeared to be a box about the size of a laptop, wrapped in brown paper, taped up excessively with packaging tape, and a photocopied ad from Office Depot advertising a Sony Vaio for $2099. In the process of getting the package from his car, he covered it with a sheet before bringing it to show me.... A lot suspicious... He handed me the package and returned to his car to retrieve a laptop from the back seat, again covering it with the sheet so no one else could see what he was doing. The laptop was an older Compaq, that he claimed a lady had dropped, but the ones in the packages were Sony. He very quickly returned it to his car, not letting me see more than a glimpse of it under the sheet. Meanwhile, I was hefting the supposed "new" packaged laptop, the entire time suspecting a scam more so than stolen merchandise. I strung him along a little while, squeezing the package (it was too lightweight, and compressed easily) Now knowing I was actually holding a package with nothing substantial inside, I told him I might be interested if he showed me what was in the box. He very quickly retrieved it from me, still trying to get me to pay $150 for it, as he gradually put distance between us getting back to his car. That pretty much ended the conversation. I told him again, "show me what's in the box, I might be interested." No go, he got back in his car and quickly went looking for another mark.

I had meanwhile finished filling my tank, and drove to a strategic location in the parking lot to watch him and his accomplice as they drove about the lot, approaching literally everyone coming and going, I quickly dialed 911 and reported their activity, gave a description of the vehicle and what they were doing, stressing that I firmly believed they were scamming people with empty boxes. I waited for police to arrive, but before they did, the vehicle exited the QT, and drove down the street. I followed at a distance, again calling 911 dispatch to report they had moved to another location, near Chili's and Buffalo Wild Wings. Actually, they had gone to the Lowe's parking lot and by the time officers arrived, had already approached several patrons in the lot. As an unmarked Dodge Charger pulled into the BWW lot, I pointed them to the Lowes. Two other marked units quickly converged on the lot, and as the PT Cruiser approached another mark in front of the store, they hit the lights and surrounded the vehicle! Too cool! I watched from the lobby of Lowes as they talked to the "suspects", and got the passenger out to open the back of the vehicle. After some minutes, a couple came out of the store and saw that the police were questioning the pair, and hollered at them "What are they doin'? Tryin' to sell ya a laptop?" One officer motioned them over and asked if they had been approached, to which they answered yes. The officer asked if they would be willing to make a statement, and a citizens arrest on suspicion of fraud. When they said they would, one of the suspects started cursing at them, this just added resolve to the couple, and they immediately made the citizens arrest. (This was necessary because the officers had no evidence of a crime otherwise.) At this point the two were arrested on fraud charges.

As it turns out, the packages were Fed-X boxes filled with newspaper... They had empty boxes, brown paper bags, tape, scissors, and flyers in the back to make more fake packages. Officers also found bolt cutters and a few personal items in the vehicle, along with three or four bogus packages, and the old, useless Compaq laptop they were using as a prop for their con. They did not find any weapons or drugs fortunately, but the passenger had a felony warrant for his arrest in Florida (the officer said that unfortunately, Florida would not extradite). Officers said they also had a fair amount of cash on them, leading officers to believe they were semi-successful with their con game. Both suspects were from Alabama, and the PT Cruiser had Alabama plates. Both are now sitting in the Broken Arrow jail, the PT Cruiser is impounded, and at least for now, they are off of the street.

Do you think those who paid $150-$250 for a box of newspaper will report it to authorities? Probably not.... Wouldn't you feel a bit foolish for falling for the scam? How about the fact that anyone with common sense would know they were about to purchase stolen merchandise, had the package actually contained a new $2000 laptop...

If you buy merchandise, especially new or near new expensive merchandise off the street, or from the trunk of someone's car, for pennies on the dollar, you should know you are about to buy stolen merchandise, and will be supporting crime. So don't do it! Don't be a victim! Report this kind of activity and save some other fool from making a mistake. These are tough times and if we don't stand up as citizens and do our part, then we are part of the problem!

In all honesty, it felt good to help get these two apprehended! And yes, I gave a written statement, and if asked, would gladly testify against them in court!

Virgil

VIRGIL G. RICHARDS

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