Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1078 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R2609 AJA-D
2	2	By: Landgraf H.B. No. 1078
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to liability arising from farm animal activities.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Sections 87.001(1), (3), and (9), Civil Practice
10	10	and Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(1) "Engages in a farm animal activity" means riding,
12	12	handling, training, driving, loading, unloading, assisting in the
13	13	medical treatment of, being a passenger on, or assisting a
14	14	participant or sponsor with a farm animal. The term includes
15	15	breeding, feeding, or working farm animals as a vocation. The term
16	16	includes management of a show involving farm animals. The term does
17	17	not include being a spectator at a farm animal activity unless the
18	18	spectator is in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to
19	19	the farm animal activity.
20	20	(3) "Farm animal activity" means:
21	21	(A) a farm animal show, fair, competition,
22	22	performance, rodeo, event, or parade that involves any farm animal;
23	23	(B) training or teaching activities involving a
24	24	farm animal;
25	25	(C) boarding a farm animal, including daily care;
26	26	(D) riding, inspecting, evaluating, handling,
27	27	loading, or unloading a farm animal belonging to another, without
28	28	regard to whether the owner receives monetary consideration or
29	29	other thing of value for the use of the farm animal or permits a
30	30	prospective purchaser of the farm animal to ride, inspect,
31	31	evaluate, handle, load, or unload the farm animal;
32	32	(E) informal farm animal activity, including a
33	33	ride, trip, or hunt that is sponsored by a farm animal activity
34	34	sponsor;
35	35	(F) placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine
36	36	animal;
37	37	(G) examining or administering medical treatment
38	38	to a farm animal by a veterinarian; [or]
39	39	(H) without regard to whether the participants
40	40	are compensated, rodeos and single event competitions, including
41	41	team roping, calf roping, and single steer roping; or
42	42	(I) breeding, feeding, or working farm animals as
43	43	a vocation.
44	44	(9) "Participant" means:
45	45	(A) with respect to a farm animal activity, a
46	46	person who engages in the activity, without regard to whether the
47	47	person:
48	48	(i) is an amateur or professional;
49	49	(ii) engages in the activity within the
50	50	scope of the person's employment as a farm or ranch employee or
51	51	engagement as an independent contractor by a farm or ranch owner or
52	52	operator; or
53	53	(iii) [whether the person] pays for the
54	54	activity or participates in the activity for free; and
55	55	(B) with respect to a livestock show, a person
56	56	who registers for and is allowed by a livestock show sponsor to
57	57	compete in a livestock show by showing an animal on a competitive
58	58	basis, or a person who assists that person.
59	59	SECTION 2. Section 87.003, Civil Practice and Remedies
60	60	Code, is amended to read as follows:
61	61	Sec. 87.003. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. Except as provided
62	62	by Section 87.004, any person, including a farm animal activity
63	63	sponsor, farm animal professional, farm or ranch owner or operator,
64	64	livestock producer, livestock show participant, or livestock show
65	65	sponsor, is not liable for property damage or damages arising from
66	66	the personal injury or death of a participant in a farm animal
67	67	activity or livestock show if the property damage, injury, or death
68	68	results from the dangers or conditions that are an inherent risk of
69	69	a farm animal activity or the showing of an animal on a competitive
70	70	basis in a livestock show, including:
71	71	(1) the propensity of a farm animal or livestock
72	72	animal to behave in ways that may result in personal injury or death
73	73	to a person on or around it;
74	74	(2) the unpredictability of a farm animal's or
75	75	livestock animal's reaction to sound, a sudden movement, or an
76	76	unfamiliar object, person, or other animal;
77	77	(3) with respect to farm animal activities involving
78	78	equine animals, certain land conditions and hazards, including
79	79	surface and subsurface conditions;
80	80	(4) a collision with another animal or an object; or
81	81	(5) the potential of a participant to act in a
82	82	negligent manner that may contribute to injury to the participant
83	83	or another, including failing to maintain control over a farm
84	84	animal or livestock animal or not acting within the participant's
85	85	ability.
86	86	SECTION 3. Section 87.004, Civil Practice and Remedies
87	87	Code, is amended to read as follows:
88	88	Sec. 87.004. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. A
89	89	person, including a farm animal activity sponsor, farm animal
90	90	professional, farm or ranch owner or operator, livestock show
91	91	participant, or livestock show sponsor, is liable for property
92	92	damage or damages arising from the personal injury or death caused
93	93	by a participant in a farm animal activity or livestock show if:
94	94	(1) the injury or death was caused by faulty equipment
95	95	or tack used in the farm animal activity or livestock show, the
96	96	person provided the equipment or tack, and the person knew or should
97	97	have known that the equipment or tack was faulty;
98	98	(2) the person provided the farm animal or livestock
99	99	animal and the person did not make a reasonable and prudent effort
100	100	to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the
101	101	farm animal activity or livestock show and determine the ability of
102	102	the participant to safely manage the farm animal or livestock
103	103	animal, taking into account the participant's representations of
104	104	ability;
105	105	(3) the injury or death was caused by a dangerous
106	106	latent condition of land for which warning signs, written notices,
107	107	or verbal warnings were not conspicuously posted or provided to the
108	108	participant, and the land was owned, leased, or otherwise under the
109	109	control of the person at the time of the injury or death and the
110	110	person knew of the dangerous latent condition;
111	111	(4) the person committed an act or omission with
112	112	wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant and
113	113	that act or omission caused the injury;
114	114	(5) the person intentionally caused the property
115	115	damage, injury, or death; or
116	116	(6) with respect to a livestock show, the injury or
117	117	death occurred as a result of an activity connected with the
118	118	livestock show and the person invited or otherwise allowed the
119	119	injured or deceased person to participate in the activity and the
120	120	injured or deceased person was not a participant as defined by
121	121	Section 87.001(9)(B).
122	122	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
123	123	to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
124	124	this Act. A cause of action that accrued before the effective date
125	125	of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before
126	126	the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
127	127	for that purpose.
128	128	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.