Defenses and Affirmative Defenses
Immunities and Statutory Bars
Recreational use statutes reduce the duty owed to recreational entrants, typically to refraining from willful or malicious failure to warn of known dangers. Every state has one, with varying covered activities.
Charging a fee generally removes the protection.
Alternative Names:
Recreational Land Use Statute, Recreational Use Act
Why it Matters?
Covered activity definitions vary enough that identical conduct qualifies in one state and not another, which makes reading the specific statute necessary rather than assuming coverage. The fee exception is the most common defeat, and courts have divided on whether indirect charges such as parking fees or membership dues remove the protection. Governmental landowners are covered in some states and excluded in others.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What removes the protection?
Do covered activities vary?
