The Recreational Use of Land and Water Act does not provide immunity from negligence to a licensee of a landowner when the licensee lacks possessory rights to the land and the public is charged for use of the land.
The plaintiff, a snowmobile operator, was injured while traveling on a snowmobile trail that the defendant-snowmobile club had established and had assumed responsibility for clearing hazards on the trail. Both the defendant-snowmobile club and the defendant-landowner filed motions for summary judgment on the grounds that they were immune from negligence liability pursuant to the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act, 68 P.S. §§ 477-1, et seq. (RULWA). The court reasoned that the RULWA provided immunity to an owner from ordinary negligence liability “so long as the land or water area is provided to the public for recreational purposes free of charge.”
The court granted the defendant-landowner’s motion as they did not charge the plaintiff, the defendant-snowmobile club or any other person to enter its land to use the snowmobile trails. However, the court denied the defendant-snowmobile club’s motion because there were factual questions as to whether the defendant-snowmobile club “charged” the plaintiff for use of its trails. The court further questioned whether the defendant-snowmobile club was an owner of the land, as required by the RULWA, since it was a licensee that lacked “possessory rights” and control of the land. The court further denied the defendant-snowmobile club’s motion on the basis that questions of fact existed as to whether the no-duty rule and assumption of risk doctrine were applicable.
Case Law Alerts, 2nd Quarter, April 2021 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2021 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.