The Limits Of Liability

Lost somewhere in the churn of budget-related news coming out of Hartford this spring was the near-unanimous passage of a law designed to shield municipalities from most liability claims resulting from injuries suffered in accidents on publicly owned recreational land. The new law grew out of a bicycle accident on a bike path on public reservoir property in West Hartford in 2002. The bicyclist, who had run into a closed gate across the bike path breaking bones in her neck, sued the agency responsible for the property, the Metropolitan District Commission, and won a $2.9 million judgment in a jury trial. The multimillion-dollar award led municipalities and their administrators to reassess their commitment to acquiring and maintaining properties that would be open for the public’s enjoyment. With new legal protections in place, however, most of that apprehension may now be put aside.

This legislation may have had an easy time of it in Hartford (only one state representative voted against it), because people are fed up with crazy lawsuits, like the beer drinker in Michigan who sued Anheuser-Busch for emotional distress and mental injury because he did not end up on a tropical island surrounded by beautiful women, like the two truck drivers in a Bud Lite ad, or the woman who sued Universal Studios because its Halloween Horror Nights haunted house was too scary. Even the bicyclist in West Hartford was ridiculed for her collision with the gate, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune; bumper stickers started to appear in the area, affixed to large and obvious objects with the mock warning, “Don’t Hit The Gate.”

Still, not every lawsuit is crazy, and negligence can maim and kill people. It turns out that the bicyclist at the reservoir was a professional mountain biker who had ridden the path several times before when the gate had always been open. The closed barrier blended in with a dark background and from some angles was difficult to see… before it was painted bright yellow after the accident. The jury decided that there was clear negligence that caused the woman’s injuries.

While people should know and acknowledge that they use at their own risk unimproved public areas designated for passive recreational activities like hiking and biking, there still remains a reasonable expectation of safety from unnecessary hazards in public areas designed and actively maintained for recreational purposes like ball fields, swimming pools, tennis courts, and their attendant buildings and facilities. Compromise language making this distinction was inserted into the law, further assuring its passage.

This new law comes as good news to towns like Newtown that are committed to acquiring open space for the benefit and enjoyment of its residents. We expect it will take a few more rounds of litigation to establish precisely were the boundaries of liability lie under its provisions. Common law has always held that landowners are not obligated to make wild and natural areas safe for all who happen by, and to have this reaffirmation of that protection apply to the lands we hold in common as a town. In enjoying that relief, however, we also need to accept our shared responsibility to keep everyone safe, no matter where they go in this town.