"State Liability Statutes"

-UTAH-

 

 

UTAH CODE ANNOTATED
TITLE 78. JUDICIAL CODE
PART III. PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 27b. LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY FOR EQUINE ACTIVITIES

 

Utah Code Ann. § 78-27b-101 (1994)

 

§ 78-27b-101. Definitions

 

As used in this chapter:

 

(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, 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 post secondary 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) "Participant" means any person, whether amateur or professional, who directly engages in an equine activity, regardless of whether a fee has been paid to participate.

 

(6) (a) "Person engaged in an equine activity" means a person who rides, trains, leads, drives, or works with an equine.

 

(b) Subsection (a) does not include a spectator at an equine activity or a participant at an equine activity who does not ride, train, lead, or drive an equine.

 

§ 78-27b-102. Equine activity liability limitations

 

(1) An equine activity sponsor or equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant engaged in an equine activity, unless the sponsor or professional:

 

(a) (i) provided the equipment or tack; and

 

(ii) the equipment or tack caused the injury;

 

(b) (i) provided the equine; and

 

(ii) failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine whether:

 

(A) the participant could engage safely in the equine activity and safely manage the particular equine; or

 

(B) the equine could behave safely 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.

 

(2) This chapter does not prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor or an equine professional who is:

 

(a) a veterinarian licensed under Title 58, Chapter 28, 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 78, Chapter 15, Product Liability Act.

 

EFFECTIVE DATES. --Laws 1992, ch. 126 became effective on April 27, 1992, pursuant to Utah Const., Art. VI, Sec. 25.