By Geren, et al. H.B. No. 2400
77R12159 AJA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to liability of sponsors of and participants in certain
1-3 activities involving animals.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 87, Civil Practice and
1-6 Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 87. LIABILITY ARISING FROM [FOR] EQUINE
1-8 ACTIVITIES OR LIVESTOCK SHOWS
1-9 SECTION 2. Section 87.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
1-10 is amended by amending Subdivision (6) and adding Subdivisions
1-11 (7)-(9) to read as follows:
1-12 (6) "Livestock animal" means:
1-13 (A) an animal raised for human consumption; or
1-14 (B) an equine animal.
1-15 (7) "Livestock show" means a nonprofit event at which
1-16 more than two species or breeds of livestock animals are gathered
1-17 for exhibition or competition.
1-18 (8) "Livestock show sponsor" means a recognized group
1-19 or association that organizes and sanctions a livestock show,
1-20 including a political subdivision or nonprofit organization that is
1-21 exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a), Internal
1-22 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt
1-23 organization in Section 501(c)(3) of that code.
1-24 (9) "Participant" means:
2-1 (A) with respect to an equine activity, a person
2-2 who engages in the [an equine] activity, without regard to whether
2-3 the person is an amateur or professional or whether the person pays
2-4 for the activity or participates in the activity for free; and
2-5 (B) with respect to a livestock show, a person
2-6 who registers for and is allowed by a livestock show sponsor to
2-7 compete in a livestock show by showing an animal on a competitive
2-8 basis, or a person who assists that person.
2-9 SECTION 3. Section 87.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
2-10 is amended to read as follows:
2-11 Sec. 87.003. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. Except as provided by
2-12 Section 87.004, any person, including an equine activity sponsor,
2-13 [or an] equine professional, livestock show participant, or
2-14 livestock show sponsor, is not liable for property damage or
2-15 damages arising from the personal injury or death of a participant
2-16 in an equine activity or livestock show if the property damage,
2-17 injury, or death results from the dangers or conditions that are an
2-18 inherent risk of an equine activity or the showing of an animal on
2-19 a competitive basis in a livestock show, including:
2-20 (1) the propensity of an equine or livestock animal to
2-21 behave in ways that may result in personal injury or death to a
2-22 person on or around it;
2-23 (2) the unpredictability of an equine or livestock
2-24 animal's reaction to sound, a sudden movement, or an unfamiliar
2-25 object, person, or other animal;
2-26 (3) with respect to equine activities, certain land
2-27 conditions and hazards, including surface and subsurface
3-1 conditions;
3-2 (4) a collision with another animal or an object; or
3-3 (5) the potential of a participant to act in a
3-4 negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant
3-5 or another, including failing to maintain control over the equine
3-6 or livestock animal or not acting within the participant's ability.
3-7 SECTION 4. Section 87.004, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
3-8 is amended to read as follows:
3-9 Sec. 87.004. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. A
3-10 person, including an equine activity sponsor, [or an] equine
3-11 professional, livestock show participant, or livestock show
3-12 sponsor, is liable for property damage or damages arising from the
3-13 personal injury or death caused by a participant in an equine
3-14 activity or livestock show if:
3-15 (1) the injury or death was caused by faulty equipment
3-16 or tack used in the equine activity or livestock show, the person
3-17 provided the equipment or tack, and the person knew or should have
3-18 known that the equipment or tack was faulty;
3-19 (2) the person provided the equine or livestock animal
3-20 and the person did not make a reasonable and prudent effort to
3-21 determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the
3-22 equine activity or livestock show and determine the ability of the
3-23 participant to safely manage the equine or livestock animal, taking
3-24 into account the participant's representations of ability;
3-25 (3) the injury or death was caused by a dangerous
3-26 latent condition of land for which warning signs, written notices,
3-27 or verbal warnings were not conspicuously posted or provided to the
4-1 participant, and the land was owned, leased, or otherwise under the
4-2 control of the person at the time of the injury or death and the
4-3 person knew of the dangerous latent condition;
4-4 (4) the person committed an act or omission with
4-5 wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and
4-6 that act or omission caused the injury; [or]
4-7 (5) the person intentionally caused the property
4-8 damage, injury, or death; or
4-9 (6) with respect to a livestock show, the injury or
4-10 death occurred as a result of an activity connected with the
4-11 livestock show and the person invited or otherwise allowed the
4-12 injured or deceased person to participate in the activity and the
4-13 injured or deceased person was not a participant as defined by
4-14 Section 87.001(9)(B).
4-15 SECTION 5. Section 87.005, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
4-16 is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d),
4-17 (e), and (f) to read as follows:
4-18 (c) The warning posted by an equine professional under this
4-19 section must be as follows:
4-20 WARNING
4-21 UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND
4-22 REMEDIES CODE), AN EQUINE PROFESSIONAL IS NOT LIABLE
4-23 FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN
4-24 EQUINE ACTIVITIES RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF
4-25 EQUINE ACTIVITIES.
4-26 (d) A livestock show sponsor shall post and maintain a sign
4-27 that contains the warning prescribed by Subsection (f) if the
5-1 livestock show sponsor manages or controls a stable, barn, corral,
5-2 or arena at which the livestock show sponsor conducts a livestock
5-3 show. The livestock show sponsor must post the sign in a clearly
5-4 visible location near the stable, barn, corral, or arena.
5-5 (e) A livestock show sponsor shall include the warning
5-6 prescribed by Subsection (f) in every written contract that the
5-7 sponsor enters into with a livestock show participant. The warning
5-8 must be clearly readable.
5-9 (f) The warning posted by a livestock show sponsor under
5-10 this section must be as follows:
5-11 WARNING
5-12 UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND
5-13 REMEDIES CODE), A LIVESTOCK SHOW SPONSOR IS NOT LIABLE
5-14 FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN A
5-15 LIVESTOCK SHOW RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF
5-16 LIVESTOCK SHOW ACTIVITIES.
5-17 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
5-18 applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that
5-19 date. A cause of action that accrues before September 1, 2001, is
5-20 governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and
5-21 that law is continued in effect for that purpose.