S*599 Session 110 (1993-1994)
S*0599(Rat #0273, Act #0182) General Bill, By Holland
Similar(H 3867)
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 7
to Chapter 9, Title 47 so as to establish immunity from liability for injuries
or death to a person engaged in an equine activity caused by an inherent risk
of equine activity.
03/25/93 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-7
03/25/93 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-7
04/07/93 Senate Committee report: Favorable Judiciary SJ-27
04/08/93 Senate Read second time SJ-8
04/08/93 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments SJ-8
04/13/93 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-19
04/14/93 House Introduced and read first time HJ-72
04/14/93 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-72
05/26/93 House Recalled from Committee on Judiciary HJ-81
06/01/93 House Debate adjourned until Wednesday, June 2, 1993 HJ-93
06/02/93 House Amended HJ-25
06/02/93 House Read second time HJ-26
06/03/93 House Read third time and returned to Senate with
amendments HJ-13
06/03/93 Senate House amendment amended SJ-45
06/03/93 Senate Returned to House with amendments SJ-45
06/03/93 House Non-concurrence in Senate amendment HJ-79
06/03/93 Senate Senate recedes from amendments SJ-55
06/14/93 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-19
06/15/93 Ratified R 273
06/21/93 Signed By Governor
06/21/93 Effective date 07/01/93
06/21/93 See act for exception to or explanation of
effective date
08/10/93 Copies available
(A182, R273, S599)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 7 TO CHAPTER 9, TITLE
47 SO AS TO ESTABLISH IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY FOR
INJURIES OR DEATH TO A PERSON ENGAGED IN AN EQUINE
ACTIVITY CAUSED BY AN INHERENT RISK OF EQUINE
ACTIVITY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Equine liability immunity
SECTION 1. Chapter 9, Title 47 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Article 7
Equine Liability Immunity
Section 47-9-710. As used in this chapter:
(1) `Engages in an equine activity' means riding, training, providing, or
assisting in providing medical treatment of, driving, or being a passenger
upon an equine, mounted or unmounted, or a person assisting a participant
or show management. It does not include being a spectator at an equine
activity, except in cases where the spectator places himself in an
unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity.
(2) `Equine' means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.
(3) `Equine activity' means:
(a) an equine show, fair, competition, performance, or parade that
involves a breed of equine and an equine discipline, including, but not
limited to, dressage, hunter and jumper horse shows, grand prix jumping,
three-day events, combined training, rodeos, driving, pulling, cutting, polo,
steeplechasing, English and western performance riding, endurance trail
riding and western games, and hunting;
(b) equine training or teaching activities, or both;
(c) boarding equines;
(d) riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to another,
whether the owner has received monetary consideration or another thing of
value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective purchaser of
the equine to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine;
(e) a ride, trip, hunt, or other equine activity, however informal or
impromptu, that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor;
(f) placing or replacing a horseshoe on an equine;
(g) examining or administering medical treatment to an equine by a
veterinarian.
(4) `Equine activity sponsor' means an individual, a group, a club, a
partnership, or a corporation, whether the sponsor is operating for profit or
nonprofit, which sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an
equine activity, including, but not limited to, a pony club, 4-H club, hunt
club, riding club, school and college-sponsored class, program, and
activity, therapeutic riding program, and an operator, instructor, and
promoter of an equine facility, including, but not limited to, a stable,
clubhouse, ponyride string, fair, and an arena at which the activity is
held.
(5) `Equine professional' means a person engaged for compensation
in:
(a) instructing a participant or renting to a participant an equine for
the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the equine;
(b) renting equipment or tack to a participant; or
(c) examining or administering medical treatment to an equine as a
veterinarian.
(6) `Inherent risk of equine activity' means those dangers or conditions
which are an integral part of equine activities, including, but not limited
to:
(a) the propensity of an equine to behave in ways that may result in
injury, harm, or death to a person on or around the equine;
(b) the unpredictability of an equine's reaction to sound, sudden
movement, an unfamiliar object, a person, or another animal;
(c) certain hazards such as surface and subsurface conditions;
(d) collisions with other equines or objects; and
(e) the potential of a participant to act in a negligent manner that may
contribute to injury to the participant or others, as failing to maintain
control over the animal or not acting within the participant's ability.
(7) `Participant' means a person, amateur or professional, who engages
in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate in the
equine activity.
Section 47-9-720. (A) Except as provided in subsection (B), an equine
activity sponsor or an equine professional is not liable for an injury to or
the death of a participant resulting from an inherent risk of equine activity,
and no participant or participant's representative may make a claim against,
maintain an action against, or recover from an equine activity sponsor, or
an equine professional, for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant
resulting from an inherent risk of equine activity.
(B) Nothing in subsection (A) prevents or limits the liability of an
equine activity sponsor, or an equine professional, if the equine activity
sponsor, or equine professional:
(1) (a) provided the equipment or tack and knew or should have
known that the equipment or tack was faulty, and the equipment or tack
was faulty to the extent that it caused the injury; or
(b) provided the equine and failed to make reasonable and prudent
efforts to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the
equine activity and to manage safely the particular equine based on the
participant's representations of his ability;
(2) owns, leases, rents, or otherwise is in lawful possession and
control of the land or facilities upon which the participant sustained injuries
because of a dangerous latent condition which was known or should have
been known to the equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or person
and for which warning signs have not been conspicuously posted;
(3) committed an act or omission that constitutes wilful or wanton
disregard for the safety of the participant and that act or omission caused
the injury; or
(4) intentionally injured the participant.
(C) Nothing in subsection (A) prevents or limits the liability of an
equine activity sponsor or an equine professional under liability provisions
as set forth in the products liability laws.
(D) The provisions of this article shall not cover or apply to any liability
arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle.
Section 47-9-730. (A) An equine professional and an equine activity
sponsor shall post and maintain signs which contain the warning notice
specified in subsection (B). These signs must be placed in a clearly visible
location on or near stables, corrals, or arenas where the equine professional
or the equine activity sponsor conducts equine activities. The warning
notice specified in subsection (B) must appear on the sign in black letters
with each letter a minimum of one inch in height. A written contract
entered into by an equine professional or by an equine activity sponsor to
provide professional services, instruction, or rental of equipment, tack, or
an equine to a participant, whether or not the contract involves equine
activities on or off the location or site of the business of the equine
professional or the equine activity sponsor, must contain in clearly readable
print the warning notice specified in subsection (B). (B) A sign and contract described in subsection (A) must contain the
following warning notice:
WARNING
Under South Carolina law, an equine activity sponsor or equine
professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in
an equine activity resulting from an inherent risk of equine activity,
pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 9 of Title 47, Code of Laws of South
Carolina, 1976.
(C) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warning signs
and notices provided in this section prevents an equine activity sponsor or
equine professional from invoking the privileges of immunity provided by
this article."
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 1993, and applies only to
causes of action arising on or after this act's effective date.
Approved the 21st day of June, 1993. |