Liability question

[Stump]

I have a friend that leases approx 100 acres for his cattle from someone that lives out of state.The land is clear in the front and wooded in the back. There are some houses approx 300 yards away, and he has seen people from the houses out in the pasture picking up pecans,etc. He has given me permission to put up my feeder and 15ft ladder stand along the backside. My question is what if someone got in my stand and fell out, what kind of liability issues could there be for the land owner,leasee,or myself.I know they shouldnt be out there, but in this day and time there is no telling what someone will try and get away with....Should there be a concern? Also,there are not any NO TRESPASSING signs on the place.Thanks

[trailboss]

Chances are he would not be liable but that doesn't mean he couldn't get sued anyway. Unless it could be proven to be an "attractive nuisance" I'm not sure he could be liable. It would help his case if he had No Trespassing signs up but still doesn't mean he couldn't be sued.

Trailboss

[Russ]

Its crazy that trespassers have any right what so ever!!!!

[The Crippler]

The first thing you should do is put up NO TRESPASSING signs. This at least indicates that you and the landowner are attempting to exclude people from the property and denying them any claim that they are invitees onto the property. The landowner does owe a duty to trespassers to warn of any unreasonable or extraordinary dangers, but a treestand probably doesn't fall under this definition. However, if a child sees the treestand and decides it looks like a nice place to play and gets injured, you and/or the landowner could possibly incur some sort of liability under the attractive nuisance doctrine, but if your stand is well-hidden this would be difficult to argue. There are all kinds of things to get into, including trespasser status, known dangers, and whether you and the landowner are aware of people trespassing, but if you were my client, I would simply advise you to put NO TRESPASSING signs around the perimeter of the property (especially where the people are gathering pecans), making sure that those known trespassers understand that they do not have license to come onto the property, and put some sort of warning on your treestand or some sort of lock to keep people out of it. This way, all of your bases are covered in the event something does happen. Which doesn't mean someone can't sue you or the landowner, but it will definitely help you defend yourself should anything ever happen.

[Feederwatcher]

The risk is too high for you to be involved. I would suggest pulling your equipment and giving the friend my number !


FW

[Stump]

Thanks guys for the info......Whats up FW?

[Bill]

If it's not a research project to install the ladder stand, I'd wait until before hunting season and not tempt fate.

[quarterback]

Or use screw in steps and leave out the first 3 or 4, thus making it very hard for someone to climb the tree and get in your stand.

[SMUMan02]

Your only duty to a trespasser is to not willfully injure them.