77R13063 DAK-D
By Turner of Coleman H.B. No. 1918
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1918:
By Bosse C.S.H.B. No. 1918
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to limiting the liability of certain persons for equine
1-3 activities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 87.001(3) and (4), Civil Practice and
1-6 Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-7 (3) "Equine activity" means:
1-8 (A) an equine animal show, fair, competition,
1-9 performance, or parade that involves any breed of equine animal and
1-10 any equine discipline, including dressage, hunter and jumper horse
1-11 shows, grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training,
1-12 driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and
1-13 Western performance riding, endurance or recreational trail riding
1-14 and Western games, and hunting;
1-15 (B) equine training or teaching activities;
1-16 (C) boarding equine animals;
1-17 (D) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine
1-18 animal belonging to another, without regard to whether the owner
1-19 receives monetary consideration or other thing of value for the use
1-20 of the equine animal or permits a prospective purchaser of the
1-21 equine animal to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine animal;
1-22 (E) informal equine activity, including a ride,
1-23 trip, or hunt that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor;
1-24 (F) placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine
2-1 animal; or
2-2 (G) without regard to whether the participants
2-3 are compensated, rodeos and single event competitions, including
2-4 team roping, calf roping, and single steer roping.
2-5 (4) "Equine activity sponsor" means:
2-6 (A) a person or group who sponsors, organizes,
2-7 or provides the facilities or land for an equine activity,
2-8 including equine facilities or land for a pony club, 4-H club, hunt
2-9 club, riding club, therapeutic riding program, or high school or
2-10 college class, program, or activity, without regard to whether the
2-11 person operates for profit; or
2-12 (B) an operator of, instructor at, or promoter
2-13 for equine facilities, including a stable, clubhouse, pony ride
2-14 string, fair, or arena at which an equine activity is held.
2-15 SECTION 2. Section 87.004, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
2-16 is amended to read as follows:
2-17 Sec. 87.004. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. A
2-18 person, including an equine activity sponsor or an equine
2-19 professional, is liable for property damage or damages arising from
2-20 the personal injury or death caused by a participant in an equine
2-21 activity if:
2-22 (1) the injury or death was caused by faulty equipment
2-23 or tack used in the equine activity, the person provided the
2-24 equipment or tack, and the person knew or should have known that
2-25 the equipment or tack was faulty;
2-26 (2) the person provided the equine animal and the
2-27 person did not make a reasonable and prudent effort to determine
3-1 the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine
3-2 activity and determine the ability of the participant to safely
3-3 manage the equine animal, taking into account the participant's
3-4 representations of ability;
3-5 (3) [the injury or death was caused by a dangerous
3-6 latent condition of land for which warning signs, written notices,
3-7 or verbal warnings were not conspicuously posted or provided to the
3-8 participant, and the land was owned, leased, or otherwise under the
3-9 control of the person at the time of the injury or death and the
3-10 person knew of the dangerous latent condition;]
3-11 [(4)] the person committed an act or omission with
3-12 wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and
3-13 that act or omission caused the injury; or
3-14 (4) [(5)] the person intentionally caused the injury
3-15 or death.
3-16 SECTION 3. Section 87.005(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
3-17 Code, is amended to read as follows:
3-18 (a) An equine professional or equine activity sponsor shall
3-19 post and maintain a sign that contains the warning contained in
3-20 Subsection (c) if the professional or sponsor manages, owns, or
3-21 controls a stable, corral, land, or arena where the professional
3-22 conducts an equine activity. The professional or sponsor must post
3-23 the sign in a clearly visible location on or near the stable,
3-24 corral, land, or arena.
3-25 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
3-26 applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that
3-27 date. An action that accrued before the effective date of this Act
4-1 is governed by the law applicable to the action immediately before
4-2 the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
4-3 for that purpose.