1-1 By: Geren, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief) H.B. No. 2400
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
1-3 May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
1-4 Resources; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to liability of sponsors of and participants in certain
1-9 activities involving animals.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 87, Civil Practice and
1-12 Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-13 CHAPTER 87. LIABILITY ARISING FROM [FOR] EQUINE
1-14 ACTIVITIES OR LIVESTOCK SHOWS
1-15 SECTION 2. Section 87.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
1-16 is amended by amending Subdivision (6) and adding Subdivisions
1-17 (7)-(9) to read as follows:
1-18 (6) "Livestock animal" means:
1-19 (A) an animal raised for human consumption; or
1-20 (B) an equine animal.
1-21 (7) "Livestock show" means a nonprofit event at which
1-22 more than two species or breeds of livestock animals are gathered
1-23 for exhibition or competition.
1-24 (8) "Livestock show sponsor" means a recognized group
1-25 or association that organizes and sanctions a livestock show,
1-26 including a political subdivision or nonprofit organization that is
1-27 exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a), Internal
1-28 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt
1-29 organization in Section 501(c)(3) of that code.
1-30 (9) "Participant" means:
1-31 (A) with respect to an equine activity, a person
1-32 who engages in the [an equine] activity, without regard to whether
1-33 the person is an amateur or professional or whether the person pays
1-34 for the activity or participates in the activity for free; and
1-35 (B) with respect to a livestock show, a person
1-36 who registers for and is allowed by a livestock show sponsor to
1-37 compete in a livestock show by showing an animal on a competitive
1-38 basis, or a person who assists that person.
1-39 SECTION 3. Section 87.003, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
1-40 is amended to read as follows:
1-41 Sec. 87.003. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. Except as provided by
1-42 Section 87.004, any person, including an equine activity sponsor,
1-43 [or an] equine professional, livestock show participant, or
1-44 livestock show sponsor, is not liable for property damage or
1-45 damages arising from the personal injury or death of a participant
1-46 in an equine activity or livestock show if the property damage,
1-47 injury, or death results from the dangers or conditions that are an
1-48 inherent risk of an equine activity or the showing of an animal on
1-49 a competitive basis in a livestock show, including:
1-50 (1) the propensity of an equine or livestock animal to
1-51 behave in ways that may result in personal injury or death to a
1-52 person on or around it;
1-53 (2) the unpredictability of an equine or livestock
1-54 animal's reaction to sound, a sudden movement, or an unfamiliar
1-55 object, person, or other animal;
1-56 (3) with respect to equine activities, certain land
1-57 conditions and hazards, including surface and subsurface
1-58 conditions;
1-59 (4) a collision with another animal or an object; or
1-60 (5) the potential of a participant to act in a
1-61 negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant
1-62 or another, including failing to maintain control over the equine
1-63 or livestock animal or not acting within the participant's ability.
1-64 SECTION 4. Section 87.004, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
2-1 is amended to read as follows:
2-2 Sec. 87.004. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. A
2-3 person, including an equine activity sponsor, [or an] equine
2-4 professional, livestock show participant, or livestock show
2-5 sponsor, is liable for property damage or damages arising from the
2-6 personal injury or death caused by a participant in an equine
2-7 activity or livestock show if:
2-8 (1) the injury or death was caused by faulty equipment
2-9 or tack used in the equine activity or livestock show, the person
2-10 provided the equipment or tack, and the person knew or should have
2-11 known that the equipment or tack was faulty;
2-12 (2) the person provided the equine or livestock animal
2-13 and the person did not make a reasonable and prudent effort to
2-14 determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the
2-15 equine activity or livestock show and determine the ability of the
2-16 participant to safely manage the equine or livestock animal, taking
2-17 into account the participant's representations of ability;
2-18 (3) the injury or death was caused by a dangerous
2-19 latent condition of land for which warning signs, written notices,
2-20 or verbal warnings were not conspicuously posted or provided to the
2-21 participant, and the land was owned, leased, or otherwise under the
2-22 control of the person at the time of the injury or death and the
2-23 person knew of the dangerous latent condition;
2-24 (4) the person committed an act or omission with
2-25 wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and
2-26 that act or omission caused the injury; [or]
2-27 (5) the person intentionally caused the property
2-28 damage, injury, or death; or
2-29 (6) with respect to a livestock show, the injury or
2-30 death occurred as a result of an activity connected with the
2-31 livestock show and the person invited or otherwise allowed the
2-32 injured or deceased person to participate in the activity and the
2-33 injured or deceased person was not a participant as defined by
2-34 Section 87.001(9)(B).
2-35 SECTION 5. Section 87.005, Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
2-36 is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d),
2-37 (e), and (f) to read as follows:
2-38 (c) The warning posted by an equine professional under this
2-39 section must be as follows:
2-40 WARNING
2-41 UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND
2-42 REMEDIES CODE), AN EQUINE PROFESSIONAL IS NOT LIABLE
2-43 FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN
2-44 EQUINE ACTIVITIES RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF
2-45 EQUINE ACTIVITIES.
2-46 (d) A livestock show sponsor shall post and maintain a sign
2-47 that contains the warning prescribed by Subsection (f) if the
2-48 livestock show sponsor manages or controls a stable, barn, corral,
2-49 or arena at which the livestock show sponsor conducts a livestock
2-50 show. The livestock show sponsor must post the sign in a clearly
2-51 visible location near the stable, barn, corral, or arena.
2-52 (e) A livestock show sponsor shall include the warning
2-53 prescribed by Subsection (f) in every written contract that the
2-54 sponsor enters into with a livestock show participant. The warning
2-55 must be clearly readable.
2-56 (f) The warning posted by a livestock show sponsor under
2-57 this section must be as follows:
2-58 WARNING
2-59 UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND
2-60 REMEDIES CODE), A LIVESTOCK SHOW SPONSOR IS NOT LIABLE
2-61 FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN A
2-62 LIVESTOCK SHOW RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF
2-63 LIVESTOCK SHOW ACTIVITIES.
2-64 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
2-65 applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after that
2-66 date. A cause of action that accrues before September 1, 2001, is
2-67 governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and
2-68 that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
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