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Alaska
Title 9. Code of Civil Procedure. Chapter 65. Actions, Immunities,
Defenses, and Duties. Sec. 09.65.145 Liability for injuries
or death resulting from livestock activities.
Citation: AK ST § 09.65.145; AK ST § 09.65.290
Citation: A. S. 09.65.145; A. S. 09.65.290
Summary: Two Alaska statutes are provided here that relate
to the limitation of liability for equine activities. The
first is the equine activity liability statute, which states
that livestock are unpredictable and inherently dangerous
and all persons who knowingly place themselves in proximity
to livestock for any reason involving an activity that includes
livestock are considered a participant in livestock activity
and assume the risk. Exclusions include gross negligence of
the equine sponsor, knowledge of faulty tack or equipment,
and failure to properly ascertain the level of competence
by the participant. The second statute reiterates that a person
who participates in a sports or recreational activity assumes
the inherent risks in that sports or recreational activity,
including horseback riding.
Statute in Full:
Sec. 09.65.145 Liability for injuries or death resulting from
livestock activities.
(a) Livestock are unpredictable and inherently dangerous.
All persons who knowingly place themselves in proximity to
livestock for any reason involving an activity that includes
livestock subject themselves to serious injury or death and
are considered a participant in livestock activity and assume
the risk of injury or death caused by the livestock.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person,
and the personal representative of a person, who suffers an
injury or death resulting from a livestock activity may not
recover civil damages for the injury or death from a livestock
activity sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity
participant, or the agents or employees of a livestock activity
sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity participant.
(c) This section does not affect a civil action for damages
resulting from
(1) gross negligence or reckless or intentional misconduct
of the livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional,
or livestock activity participant, or agents or employees
of the livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional,
or livestock activity participant;
(2) equipment, tack, or a product provided by the livestock
activity sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity
participant that the livestock activity sponsor, livestock
professional, or livestock activity participant knows is faulty
or defective;
(3) the failure of the livestock activity sponsor, livestock
professional, or livestock activity participant who provided
the livestock to make a reasonable and prudent effort to determine
the ability of the participant to safely manage the livestock
activity, after taking into account the participant's representation
of ability; a participant in a livestock show, livestock sale,
or rodeo is presumed to be competent to handle livestock if
an entry form is required for the activity and is signed or
submitted by the participant.
(d) This section does not nullify coverage or an award for
an injury to or death of an employee of a livestock activity
sponsor or livestock professional if the employee suffers
an injury or death resulting from a livestock activity and
the injury or death is covered by or subject to workers' compensation
provisions under AS 23.30.
(e) This section does not prevent or limit the liability of
a livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock
activity participant, or their agents or employees under a
liability provision as provided in a law relating to product
liability.
(f) A livestock activity sponsor may not be held vicariously
liable for the acts or omissions of a livestock activity participant
or a livestock professional.
(g) A person may agree, in writing, to waive the entire right
to recover damages resulting from an inherent risk of a livestock
activity.
(h) This section does not affect the immunity of an owner
of unimproved land under AS 09.65.200.
(i) In this section,
(1) "inherent risk of a livestock activity" means
those dangers or conditions that are an integral part of a
livestock activity, including
(A) the propensity of livestock to behave in ways that may
result in injury to a person on or around livestock;
(B) the unpredictability of livestock's reaction to sound,
sudden movement, and unfamiliar objects or persons, or other
animals;
(C) hazards or conditions unknown to a livestock activity
sponsor;
(D) collisions with other livestock or objects;
(E) the potential of tack to become dislodged or move in ways
that may result in injury to a person on or around a livestock
activity; and
(F) the potential of a person to negligently engage in conduct
that contributes to an injury or death during a livestock
activity;
(2) "livestock" includes a domestic cow, domestic
bison, hog, sheep, goat, domestic musk-ox, yak, pig, legally
possessed caribou, reindeer, domestic elk, rabbit, hamster,
guinea pig, turkey, chicken, pheasant, peafowl, pigeon, horse,
mule, donkey, camel, llama, alpaca, or a waterfowl that does
not require a federal permit; "livestock" does not
mean a dog or cat;
(3) "livestock activity" includes
(A) livestock shows, fairs, sales, competitions, or performances
that involve any or all breeds of livestock and any of the
livestock disciplines, including rodeos, auctions, driving,
pulling, judging, cutting, therapeutic riding, and showing;
(B) livestock training or teaching activities or both training
and teaching activities;
(C) boarding or pasturing livestock;
(D) testing, inspecting or evaluating livestock belonging
to another person, whether or not the owner has received monetary
consideration or other thing of value for the use of the livestock
or is permitting a prospective purchaser of the livestock
to inspect or evaluate the livestock;
(E) driving, riding, grooming, traveling, or other livestock
activities of any type, however informal or impromptu, that
are sponsored by a livestock activity sponsor;
(F) placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine, or otherwise
preparing livestock for show; and
(G) assisting in providing medical treatment to livestock;
(4) "livestock activity sponsor" means an individual,
group, club, partnership, limited liability company, nonprofit
corporation, or corporation operating for profit that sponsors,
organizes, or provides the livestock, equipment, tack, facilities,
or instruction for a livestock activity;
(5) "livestock professional" means a person who
receives compensation for instructing a participant, renting
livestock to a participant for the purpose of engaging in
livestock activity, or renting equipment or tack to a participant;
(6) "participant" means a person, whether amateur
or professional, who engages in a livestock activity or who
is near or close to livestock, whether or not a fee is paid
to participate in the livestock activity.
SLA 2003, ch. 122, § 3.
Sec. 09.65.290 Civil liability for sports or recreational
activities.
(a) A person who participates in a sports or recreational
activity assumes the inherent risks in that sports or recreational
activity and is legally responsible for all injuries or death
to the person or other persons and for all damage to property
that results from the inherent risks in that sports or recreational
activity.
(b) This section does not require a provider to eliminate,
alter, or control the inherent risks within the particular
sports or recreational activity that is provided.
(c) This section does not apply to a civil action based on
the
(1) negligence of a provider if the negligence was the proximate
cause of the injury, death, or damage; or
(2) design or manufacture of sports or recreational equipment
or products or safety equipment used incidental to or required
by a sports or recreational activity.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict
with or render as ineffectual a liability release agreement
between a person who participates in a sports or recreational
activity and a provider.
(e) In this section,
(1) "inherent risks" means those dangers or conditions
that are characteristic of, intrinsic to, or an integral part
of a sports or recreational activity;
(2) "provider" means a person or a federal, state,
or municipal agency that promotes, offers, or conducts a sports
or recreational activity, whether for pay or otherwise;
(3) "sports or recreational activity"
(A) means a commonly understood sporting activity, whether
undertaken with or without permission, including baseball,
softball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, bungee jumping,
parasailing, bicycling, hiking, swimming, skateboarding, horseback
riding and other equine activity, dude ranching, mountain
climbing, river floating, whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking,
hunting, fishing, backcountry trips, mushing, backcountry
or helicopter-assisted skiing, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing,
snowboarding, telemarking, snow sliding, snowmobiling, off-road
and all-terrain vehicle use;
(B) does not include
(i) boxing contests, sparring or wrestling matches, or exhibitions
that are subject to the requirements of AS 05.10;
(ii) activities involving the use of devices that are subject
to the requirements of AS 05.20; or
(iii) skiing or sliding activities at a ski area that are
subject to the requirements of AS 05.45.
SLA 2003, ch. 121, § 3.
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