SENATE BILL 22-115
BY SENATOR(S) Jaquez Lewis and Gardner, Bridges, Buckner, Coleman,
Coram, Ginal, Gonzales, Hisey, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Lee, Liston, Lundeen,
Moreno, Priola, Simpson, Smallwood, Winter, Woodward, Zenzinger;
also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Soper and Tipper, Bockenfeld, Esgar,
Roberts.
C
ONCERNING CLARIFYING CERTAIN TERMS AS THE TERMS RELATE TO A
LANDOWNER
'S LIABILITY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(a) Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, Inc. v. Wagner, 2020 CO
51, 467 P.3d 287 and Wagner v. Planned Parenthood Federation of
America, Inc., 2019 COA 26, 471 P.3d 1089, are contrary to the stated
purpose of the landowner liability statute to the extent that they do not
create a legal climate that will promote private property rights and
commercial enterprise and foster the availability and affordability of
insurance; and
NOTE: This bill has been prepared for the signatures of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor. To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
history, or the Session Laws.
________
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act. (b) In light of the Colorado court of appeals and supreme court
decisions in Wagner, and solely to the extent that Wagner contravenes
existing Colorado law and public policy, the general assembly finds it
necessary and appropriate to amend the landowner liability statute to clarify
its scope and meaning. In doing so, the general assembly does not intend to
expand or constrict the protections afforded to landowners and invitees
under the landowner liability statute, or any other statute, including but not
limited to the "Claire Davis School Safety Act", or to reject or otherwise
disturb any judicial decision other than Wagner.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, amend 13-21-115 as
follows:
13-21-115. Actions against landowners - short title - legislative
declaration - definitions. (1) For the purposes of this section, "landowner"
includes, without limitation, an authorized agent or a person in possession
of real property and a person legally responsible for the condition of real
property or for the activities conducted or circumstances existing on real
property. THE SHORT TITLE OF THIS SECTION IS THE "COLORADO PREMISES
LIABILITY ACT".
(1.5) (2) The general assembly hereby finds and declares THAT:
(a) That The provisions of this section were enacted in 1986 to
promote a state policy of responsibility by both landowners and those upon
the land as well as to assure
ENSURE that the ability of an injured party to
recover is correlated with his THE INJURED PARTY'S status as a trespasser,
licensee, or invitee;
(b) That These objectives were characterized by the Colorado
supreme court as "legitimate governmental interests" in Gallegos v. Phipps,
No. 88 SA 141 (September 18, 1989) 779 P.2d 856 (COLO. 1989);
(c) That The purpose of amending this section in the 1990
legislative session is WAS to:
(I) Assure ENSURE that the language of this section effectuates these
legitimate governmental interests by imposing on landowners a higher
standard of care with respect to an invitee than a licensee and a higher
standard of care with respect to a licensee than a trespasser;
AND
PAGE 2-SENATE BILL 22-115 (d) That the purpose of this section is also to
(II) Create a legal climate which THAT will promote private property
rights and commercial enterprise and will foster the availability and
affordability of insurance;
(e) (d) That The general assembly recognizes that by amending this
section it is not reinstating the common law status categories as they existed
immediately prior to Mile Hi Fence v. Radovich, 175 Colo. 537, 489 P.2d
308 (1971) but that its purpose is to protect landowners from liability in
some circumstances when they were not protected at common law and to
define the instances when liability will be imposed in the manner most
consistent with the policies set forth in paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) of this
subsection (1.5) SUBSECTIONS (2)(a) AND (2)(c) OF THIS SECTION; AND
(e) (I) THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PLANNED PARENTHOOD, INC. V.
W
AGNER, 2020 CO 51, 467 P.3d 287, AND WAGNER V. PLANNED PARENTHOOD
FEDERATION OF AMERICA, INC., 2019 COA 26, 471 P.3d 1089, DECISIONS DO
NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE INTENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
REGARDING LANDOWNER LIABILITY AND MUST NOT BE RELIED UPON IN
APPLYING THIS SECTION TO THE EXTENT THAT THE MAJORITY OPINIONS
DETERMINED
:
(A) T
HE FORESEEABILITY OF THIRD-PARTY CRIMINAL CONDUCT
BASED UPON WHETHER THE GOODS OR SERVICES OFFERED BY A LANDOWNER
ARE CONTROVERSIAL
; AND
(B) THAT A LANDOWNER COULD BE HELD LIABLE AS A SUBSTANTIAL
FACTOR IN CAUSING HARM WITHOUT CONSIDERING WHETHER A THIRD
-PARTY
CRIMINAL ACT WAS THE PREDOMINANT CAUSE OF THAT HARM
, AS NOTED BY
THE DISSENTING JUSTICES AND JUDGE
.
(II) I
N MAKING THIS DECLARATION, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DOES
NOT INTEND TO REJECT OR OTHERWISE DISTURB ANY JUDICIAL DECISION
OTHER THAN THE
WAGNER DECISIONS .
(2)
(3) In any civil action brought against a landowner by a person
who alleges injury occurring while on the real property of another and by
reason of the condition of such property, or activities conducted or
circumstances existing on such property, the landowner shall be
IS liable
PAGE 3-SENATE BILL 22-115 only as provided in subsection (3) SUBSECTION (4) of this section. Sections
13-21-111, 13-21-111.5, and 13-21-111.7 shall apply to an action to which
this section applies. This subsection (2) shall SUBSECTION (3) MUST not be
construed to abrogate the doctrine of attractive nuisance as applied to
persons under fourteen years of age. A person who is at least fourteen years
of age but is less than eighteen years of age shall be
IS presumed competent
for purposes of the application of this section.
(3) (4) (a) A trespasser may ONLY recover only for damages
willfully or deliberately caused by the landowner.
(b) A licensee may
ONLY recover only for
damages caused:
(I) By the landowner's unreasonable failure to exercise reasonable
care with respect to dangers created by the landowner of which THAT the
landowner actually knew
ABOUT; or
(II) By the landowner's unreasonable failure to warn of dangers not
created by the landowner which
THAT are not ordinarily present on property
of the type involved and of which THAT the landowner actually knew
ABOUT.
(c) (I) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (II) of this
paragraph (c) SUBSECTION (4)(c)(II) OF THIS SECTION, an invitee may
recover for damages caused by the landowner's unreasonable failure to
exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers of which he
THE
LANDOWNER
actually knew ABOUT or should have known ABOUT.
(II) If the landowner's real property is classified for property tax
purposes as agricultural land or vacant land, an invitee may recover for
damages caused by the landowner's unreasonable failure to exercise
reasonable care to protect against dangers of which he
THE LANDOWNER
actually knew ABOUT.
(3.5) (5) It is the intent of the general assembly in enacting the
provisions of subsection (3) SUBSECTION (4) of this section that the
circumstances under which a licensee may recover include all of the
circumstances under which a trespasser could recover and that the
circumstances under which an invitee may recover include all of the
circumstances under which a trespasser or a licensee could recover.
PAGE 4-SENATE BILL 22-115 (4) (6) In any action to which this section applies, the judge COURT
shall determine whether the plaintiff is a trespasser, a licensee, or an invitee,
in accordance with the definitions set forth in subsection (5) SUBSECTION (7)
of this section. If two or more landowners are parties defendant PARTY
DEFENDANTS
to the action, the judge
COURT shall determine the application
of this section to each such landowner. The issues of liability and damages
in any such action shall MUST be determined by the jury or, if there is no
jury, by the judge COURT.
(5) (7) As used in this section, UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHERWISE
REQUIRES
:
(a) "Invitee" means a person who enters or remains on the land of
another to transact business in which the parties are mutually interested or
who enters or remains on such land in response to the landowner's express
or implied representation that the public is requested, expected, or intended
to enter or remain.
(b) "L
ANDOWNER" MEANS, WITHOUT LIMITATION, AN AUTHORIZED
AGENT OR A PERSON IN POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY AND A PERSON
LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONDITION OF REAL PROPERTY OR FOR THE
ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED OR CIRCUMSTANCES EXISTING ON REAL PROPERTY
.
(b)
(c) "Licensee" means a person who enters or remains on the land
of another for the licensee's own convenience or to advance his THE
LICENSEE
'S own interests, pursuant to the landowner's permission or
consent. "Licensee" includes a social guest.
(c)
(d) "Trespasser" means a person who enters or remains on the
land of another without the landowner's consent.
(6) (8) If any provision of this section is found by a court of
competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of
the section shall be
ARE deemed valid.
SECTION 3. Applicability. This act applies to actions pending on
or after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 4. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds,
PAGE 5-SENATE BILL 22-115 determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety.
____________________________ ____________________________
Steve Fenberg Alec Garnett
PRESIDENT OF SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES
____________________________ ____________________________
Cindi L. Markwell Robin Jones
SECRETARY OF CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
THE SENATE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APPROVED________________________________________
(Date and Time)
_________________________________________
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
PAGE 6-SENATE BILL 22-115