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Utah
Title 78. Judicial Code. Part III. Procedure. Chapter 27B. Limitations on Liability for Equine and Livestock Activities.
Citation: UT ST § 78-27b-101 - § 78-27b-101. Renumbered as § 78B-4-201 by Laws 2008, c. 3, § 741, eff. Feb.
7, 2008
Citation: U.C.A. 1953 § 78B-4-201 - 203
Summary: This Utah section states that it is presumed that
participants in equine or livestock activities are aware of
and understand that there are inherent risks associated with
these activities.
Thus, an equine activity sponsor, equine
professional, livestock activity sponsor, or livestock professional
is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant
due to the inherent risks associated with these activities.
Liability is not limited by this statute where the equine
professional knowingly provided faulty tack or equipment,
failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine
the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine
activity, owns or otherwise is in lawful possession of the
land or facilities upon which the participant sustained injuries
because of a known, dangerous latent condition, or if he or
she commits an act or omission that constitutes willful or
wanton disregard for the safety of the participant or intentionally
injures the participant.
The section also requires an equine
professional to give notice to participants of the limitation
of liability, either by the posting of a sign or by the execution
of a written release.
Statute in Full:
§ 78B-4-201. Definitions
As used in this part:
(1) “Equine” means any member of the equidae family.
(2) “Equine activity” means:
(a) equine shows, fairs, competitions, performances, racing,
sales, or parades that involve any breeds of equines and any
equine disciplines, including dressage, hunter and jumper
horse shows, grand prix jumping, multiple-day events, combined
training, rodeos, driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeple
chasing, hunting, endurance trail riding, and western games;
(b) boarding or training equines;
(c) teaching persons equestrian skills;
(d) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine owned by another
person regardless of whether the owner receives monetary or
other valuable consideration;
(e) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine by a prospective
purchaser; or
(f) other equine activities of any type including rides, trips,
hunts, or informal or spontaneous activities sponsored by
an equine activity sponsor.
(3) “Equine activity sponsor” means an individual,
group, governmental entity, club, partnership, or corporation,
whether operating for profit or as a nonprofit entity, which
sponsors, organizes, or provides facilities for an equine
activity, including:
(a) pony clubs, hunt clubs, riding clubs, 4-H programs, therapeutic
riding programs, and public and private schools and postsecondary
educational institutions that sponsor equine activities; and
(b) operators, instructors, and promoters of equine facilities,
stables, clubhouses, ponyride strings, fairs, and arenas.
(4) “Equine professional” means a person compensated
for an equine activity by:
(a) instructing a participant;
(b) renting to a participant an equine to ride, drive, or
be a passenger upon the equine; or
(c) renting equine equipment or tack to a participant.
(5) “Inherent risk” with regard to equine or livestock
activities means those dangers or conditions which are an
integral part of equine or livestock activities, which may
include:
(a) the propensity of the animal to behave in ways that may
result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them;
(b) the unpredictability of the animal's reaction to outside
stimulation such as sounds, sudden movement, and unfamiliar
objects, persons, or other animals;
(c) collisions with other animals or objects; or
(d) the potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner
that may contribute to injury to the participant or others,
such as failing to maintain control over the animal or not
acting within his or her ability.
(6) “Livestock” means all domesticated animals
used in the production of food, fiber, or livestock activities.
(7) “Livestock activity” means:
(a) livestock shows, fairs, competitions, performances, packing
events, or parades or rodeos that involve any or all breeds
of livestock;
(b) using livestock to pull carts or to carry packs or other
items;
(c) using livestock to pull travois-type carriers during rescue
or emergency situations;
(d) livestock training or teaching activities or both;
(e) taking livestock on public relations trips or visits to
schools or nursing homes;
(f) boarding livestock;
(g) riding, inspecting, or evaluating any livestock belonging
to another, whether or not the owner has received some monetary
consideration or other thing of value for the use of the livestock
or is permitting a prospective purchaser of the livestock
to ride, inspect, or evaluate the livestock;
(h) using livestock in wool production;
(i) rides, trips, or other livestock activities of any type
however informal or impromptu that are sponsored by a livestock
activity sponsor; and
(j) trimming the feet of any livestock.
(8) “Livestock activity sponsor” means an individual,
group, governmental entity, club, partnership, or corporation,
whether operating for profit or as a nonprofit entity, which
sponsors, organizes, or provides facilities for a livestock
activity, including:
(a) livestock clubs, 4-H programs, therapeutic riding programs,
and public and private schools and postsecondary educational
institutions that sponsor livestock activities; and
(b) operators, instructors, and promoters of livestock facilities,
stables, clubhouses, fairs, and arenas.
(9) “Livestock professional” means a person compensated
for a livestock activity by:
(a) instructing a participant;
(b) renting to a participant any livestock for the purpose
of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the livestock;
or
(c) renting livestock equipment or tack to a participant.
(10) “Participant” means any person, whether amateur
or professional, who directly engages in an equine activity
or livestock activity, regardless of whether a fee has been
paid to participate.
(11)(a) “Person engaged in an equine or livestock activity”
means a person who rides, trains, leads, drives, or works
with an equine or livestock, respectively.
(b) Subsection (11)(a) does not include a spectator at an
equine or livestock activity or a participant at an equine
or livestock activity who does not ride, train, lead, or drive
an equine or any livestock.
§ 78B-4-202. Equine and livestock activity liability
limitations
(1) It shall be presumed that participants in equine or
livestock activities are aware of and understand that there
are inherent risks associated with these activities.
(2) An equine activity sponsor, equine professional, livestock
activity sponsor, or livestock professional is not liable
for an injury to or the death of a participant due to the
inherent risks associated with these activities, unless
the sponsor or professional:
(a)(i) provided the equipment or tack;
(ii) the equipment or tack caused the injury; and
(iii) the equipment failure was due to the sponsor's or
professional's negligence;
(b) failed to make reasonable efforts to determine whether
the equine or livestock could behave in a manner consistent
with the activity with the participant;
(c) owns, leases, rents, or is in legal possession and control
of land or facilities upon which the participant sustained
injuries because of a dangerous condition which was known
to or should have been known to the sponsor or professional
and for which warning signs have not been conspicuously
posted;
(d)(i) commits an act or omission that constitutes negligence,
gross negligence, or willful or wanton disregard for the
safety of the participant; and
(ii) that act or omission causes the injury; or
(e) intentionally injures or causes the injury to the participant.
(3) This chapter does not prevent or limit the liability
of an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, a
livestock activity sponsor, or a livestock professional
who is:
(a) a veterinarian licensed under Title 58, Chapter 28,
Veterinary Practice Act, in an action to recover for damages
incurred in the course of providing professional treatment
of an equine;
(b) liable under Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays and Trespassing
Animals; or
(c) liable under Title 78B, Chapter 7, Utah Product Liability
Act.
§ 78B-4-203. Signs to be posted listing inherent risks
and liability limitations
(1) An equine or livestock activity sponsor shall provide
notice to participants of the equine or livestock activity
that there are inherent risks of participating and that
the sponsor is not liable for certain of those risks.
(2) Notice shall be provided by:
(a) posting a sign in a prominent location within the area
being used for the activity; or
(b) providing a document or release for the participant,
or the participant's legal guardian if the participant is
a minor, to sign.
(3) The notice provided by the sign or document shall be
sufficient if it includes the definition of inherent risk
in Section 78B-4-201 and states that the sponsor is not
liable for those inherent risks.
(4) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), signs are not required
to be posted for parades and activities that fall within
Subsections 78B-4-201(2)(f) and (7)(c), (e), (g), (h), and
(j).
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