By Turner of Coleman H.B. No. 1918
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
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. Chapter 87, Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies
1-6 Code is amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 87.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-8 (1) "Engages in an equine activity" means riding,
1-9 handling, training, driving, assisting in the medical treatment of,
1-10 being a passenger on, or assisting a participant or sponsor with an
1-11 equine animal. The term includes management of a show involving
1-12 equine animals. The term does not include being a spectator at an
1-13 equine activity unless the spectator is in an unauthorized area and
1-14 in immediate proximity to the equine activity.
1-15 (2) "Equine animal" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey,
1-16 or hinny.
1-17 (3) "Equine activity" means:
1-18 (A) an equine animal show, fair, competition,
1-19 performance, or parade that involves any breed of equine animal and
1-20 any equine discipline, including dressage, hunter and jumper horse
1-21 shows, grand prix jumping, three-day events, combined training,
1-22 driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and
2-1 Western performance riding, endurance or recreational trail riding
2-2 and Western games, and hunting;
2-3 (B) equine training or teaching activities;
2-4 (C) boarding equine animals;
2-5 (D) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine
2-6 animal belonging to another, without regard to whether the owner
2-7 receives monetary consideration or other thing of value for the use
2-8 of the equine animal or permits a prospective purchaser of the
2-9 equine animal to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine animal;
2-10 (E) informal equine activity, including a ride,
2-11 trip, or hunt that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor;
2-12 (F) placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine
2-13 animal; or
2-14 (G) without regard to whether the participants
2-15 are compensated, rodeos and single event competitions, including
2-16 team roping, calf roping, and single steer roping
2-17 (4) "Equine activity sponsor" means:
2-18 (A) a person or group who sponsors, organizes,
2-19 or provides the facilities or land for an equine activity,
2-20 including equine facilities or land, for a pony club, 4-H club,
2-21 hunt club, riding club, therapeutic riding program, or high school
2-22 or college class, program, or activity, without regard to whether
2-23 the person operates for profit; or
2-24 (B) an operator of, instructor at, or promoter
2-25 for equine facilities, including a stable, clubhouse, pony ride
2-26 string, fair, or arena at which an equine activity is held.
3-1 (5) "Equine professional" means a person engaged for
3-2 compensation:
3-3 (A) to instruct a participant or rent to a
3-4 participant an equine animal for the purpose of riding, driving, or
3-5 being a passenger on the equine animal; or
3-6 (B) to rent equipment or tack to a participant.
3-7 (6) "Participant" means a person who engages in an
3-8 equine activity, without regard to whether the person is an amateur
3-9 or professional or whether the person pays for the activity or
3-10 participates in the activity for free.
3-11 Sec. 87.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
3-12 not apply to an activity regulated by the Texas Racing Commission.
3-13 Sec. 87.003. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. Except as provided by
3-14 Section 87.004, any person, including an equine activity sponsor or
3-15 an equine professional, is not liable for property damage or
3-16 damages arising from the personal injury or death of a participant
3-17 if the property damage, injury, or death results from the dangers
3-18 or conditions that are an inherent risk of equine activity,
3-19 including:
3-20 (1) the propensity of an equine animal to behave in
3-21 ways that may result in personal injury or death to a person on or
3-22 around it;
3-23 (2) the unpredictability of an equine animal's
3-24 reaction to sound, a sudden movement, or an unfamiliar object,
3-25 person, or other animal;
3-26 (3) [certain] hazardous and dangerous land conditions
4-1 [and hazards], including surface and subsurface conditions;
4-2 (4) a collision with another animal or an object; or
4-3 (5) the potential of a participant to act in a
4-4 negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant
4-5 or another, including failing to maintain control over the equine
4-6 animal or not acting within the participant's ability.
4-7 Sec. 87.004. EXCEPTIONS ON LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. A
4-8 person, including an equine activity sponsor or an equine
4-9 professional, is liable for property damage or damages arising from
4-10 the personal injury or death caused by a participant in an equine
4-11 activity if:
4-12 (1) the injury or death was caused by faulty equipment
4-13 or tack used in the equine activity, the person provided the
4-14 equipment or tack, and the person knew or should have known that
4-15 the equipment or tack was faulty;
4-16 (2) the person provided the equine animal and the
4-17 person did not make a reasonable and prudent effort to determine
4-18 the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine
4-19 activity and determine the ability of the participant to safely
4-20 manage the equine animal, taking into account the participant's
4-21 representations of ability;
4-22 [(3) the injury or death was caused by a dangerous
4-23 latent condition of land for which warning signs, written notices,
4-24 or verbal warnings were not conspicuously posted or provided to the
4-25 participant, and the land was owned, leased, or otherwise under the
4-26 control of the person at the time of the injury or death and the
5-1 person knew of the dangerous latent condition;]
5-2 [(4)] (3) the person committed an act or omission with
5-3 wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and
5-4 that act or omission caused the injury; or
5-5 [(5)] (4) the person intentionally caused the injury
5-6 or death.
5-7 Sec. 87.005. WARNING NOTICE. (a) An equine professional
5-8 and equine activity sponsors shall post and maintain a sign that
5-9 contains the warning contained in Subsection (c) if the
5-10 professional manages, owns, or controls a stable, corral, land, or
5-11 arena where the professional conducts an equine activity. The
5-12 professional must post the sign in a clearly visible location on or
5-13 near the stable, corral, or arena.
5-14 (b) An equine professional shall include the warning
5-15 contained in Subsection (c) in every written contract that the
5-16 professional enters into with a participant for professional
5-17 services, instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or an
5-18 equine animal. The warning must be included without regard to
5-19 whether the contract involves equine activities on or off the
5-20 location or site of the business of the equine professional. The
5-21 warning must be clearly readable.
5-22 (c) The warning must be as follows:
5-23 WARNING
5-24 UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE), AN
5-25 EQUINE PROFESSIONAL IS NOT LIABLE FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF
6-1 A PARTICIPANT IN EQUINE ACTIVITIES RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT
6-2 RISKS OF EQUINE ACTIVITIES.
6-3 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on September 1, 2001.