ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 576
(By Senators Wooton, Felton, Plymale, Minard,
Anderson, Dittmar and Yoder)
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[Passed April 8, 1993; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections one, three, five and six,
article twenty-five, chapter nineteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new
section, designated section seven, all relating to limiting
the liability of landowners; permitting landowners to
collect money for the annual use of land without incurring
liability for other than willful or malicious failure to
guard or warn against a dangerous or hazardous condition,
use, structure or activity; defining terms; limiting the
liability of landowners who allow their property to be used
for military training purposes; and providing for certain
insurance policy requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one, three, five and six, article twenty-five,
chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and
that said article be further amended by adding thereto a newsection, designated section seven, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 25. LIMITING LIABILITY OF LANDOWNERS.
§19-25-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to encourage owners of land
to make available to the public land and water areas for military
training or recreational or wildlife propagation purposes by
limiting their liability toward persons entering thereon and
toward persons who may be injured or otherwise damaged by the
acts or omissions of persons entering thereon.
§19-25-3. Limiting duty of landowner who leases land to state,
counties, municipalities or agencies.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, an owner of land leased
to the state or any agency thereof, or any county or municipality
or agency thereof, for military training or recreational or
wildlife propagation purposes owes no duty of care to keep that
land safe for entry or use by others or to give warning to
persons entering or going upon the land of any dangerous or
hazardous conditions, uses, structures or activities thereon.
An owner who leases land to the state or any agency thereof, or
any county or municipality or agency thereof, for military
training or recreational or wildlife propagation purposes shall
not by giving a lease: (a) Extend any assurance to any person
using the land that the premises are safe for any purpose; or (b)
confer upon those persons the legal status of an invitee or
licensee to whom a duty of care is owed; or (c) assume
responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to person or
property caused by an act or omission of a person who enters upon
the leased land. The provisions of this section apply whetherthe person entering upon the leased land is an invitee, licensee,
trespasser or otherwise.
§19-25-5. Definitions.
Unless the context used clearly requires a different
meaning, as used in this article:
(1) "Charge" means:
(A) For purposes of limiting liability for recreational or
wildlife propagation purposes set forth in section two of this
article, the amount of money asked in return for an invitation to
enter or go upon the land, including a one-time fee for a
particular event, amusement, occurrence, adventure, incident,
experience or occasion but not including an amount of money not
to exceed fifty dollars a year for an individual for the annual
use of land;
(B) For purposes of limiting liability for military training
set forth in section six of this article, the amount of money
asked in return for an invitation to enter or go upon the land;
(2) "Land" includes, but shall not be limited to, roads,
water, watercourses, private ways and buildings, structures and
machinery or equipment thereon when attached to the realty;
(3) "Owner" includes, but shall not be limited to, tenant,
lessee, occupant or person in control of the premises;
(4) "Recreational purposes" includes, but shall not be
limited to, any one or any combination of the following
noncommercial recreational purposes: Hunting, fishing, swimming,
boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, pleasure driving,
motorcycle or all-terrain vehicle riding, nature study, water
skiing, winter sports and visiting, viewing or enjoyinghistorical, archaeological, scenic or scientific sites, or
otherwise using land for purposes of the user;
(5) "Wildlife propagation purposes" applies to and includes
all ponds, sediment control structures, permanent water
impoundments or any other similar or like structure created or
constructed as a result of or in connection with surface mining
activities, as governed by article three, chapter twenty-two-a of
this code, or from the use of surface in the conduct of
underground coal mining as governed by articles one, two and
three of said chapter, and rules promulgated thereunder, which
ponds, structures or impoundments are hereafter designated and
certified in writing by the director of the division of natural
resources and the owner to be necessary and vital to the growth
and propagation of wildlife, animals, birds and fish or other
forms of aquatic life, and finds and determines that the premises
has the potential of being actually used by the wildlife for
those purposes and that the premises are no longer used or
necessary for mining reclamation purposes. The certification
shall be in form satisfactory to the director and shall provide
that the designated ponds, structures or impoundments shall not
be removed without the joint consent of the director and the
owner; and
(6) "Military training" includes, but is not limited to,
training, encampments, instruction, overflight by military
aircraft, parachute drops of personnel or equipment or other use
of land by a member of the army national guard or air national
guard, a member of a reserve unit of the armed forces of the
United States or a person on active duty in the armed forces ofthe United States, acting in that capacity.
§19-25-6. Limiting duty of landowner for use of land for
military purposes.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section four of this
article to the contrary, an owner of land owes no duty of care to
keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for military
training purposes, regardless of whether any charge is made
therefor, or to give any warning of a dangerous or hazardous
condition, use, structure or activity on the premises to persons
entering for those purposes.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section four of this
article to the contrary, an owner of land who either directly or
indirectly invites or permits, either with or without charge, any
person to use the property for military training purposes does
not thereby: (a) Extend any assurance that the premises are safe
for any purpose; or (b) confer upon those persons the legal
status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed;
or (c) assume responsibility for or incur liability for any
injury to person or property caused by an act or omission of
those persons.
§19-25-7. Insurance policies.
Any policy or contract of liability insurance providing
coverage for liability sold, issued or delivered in this state to
any owner of lands covered under the provisions of this article
shall be read so as to contain a provision or endorsement whereby
the company issuing such policy waives or agrees not to assert as
a defense on behalf of the policyholder or any beneficiary
thereof, to any claim covered by the terms of such policy withinthe policy limits, the immunity from liability of the insured by
reason of the use of such insured's land for recreational,
wildlife propagation or military purposes, unless such provision
or endorsement is rejected in writing by the named insured.