SB 176: "An Act relating to civil liability for injuries or death resulting from livestock activities."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 176 01 "An Act relating to civil liability for injuries or death resulting from livestock 02 activities." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 05 to read: 06 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The legislature finds that 07 (1) a person who engages in livestock activities may incur injuries or death as 08 a result of the inherent risks involved in the activities even in the absence of any fault or 09 negligence on the part of the person or entity who sponsors, participates in, or organizes those 10 activities; and 11 (2) the state and its citizens derive numerous economic and personal benefits 12 from livestock activities; and 13 (3) livestock are unpredictable and inherently dangerous; a person who is in 14 the proximity of livestock is presumed to be a livestock activity participant and assumes the
01 risk of injury or death resulting from the livestock activity. 02 (b) It is the intent of the legislature to 03 (1) encourage livestock activities by limiting the civil liability of livestock 04 activity sponsors and participants and of livestock professionals involved in livestock 05 activities; and 06 (2) establish the policy that the sponsor or participant in livestock activities 07 who breaches a duty to a livestock activity participant shall be responsible for the injury in 08 accordance with other applicable law. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 09.55.580(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) Except as provided under (f) of this section and AS 09.65.145, when the 11 death of a person is caused by the wrongful act or omission of another, the personal 12 representatives of the former may maintain an action therefore against the latter, if the 13 former might have maintained an action, had the person lived, against the latter for an 14 injury done by the same act or omission. The action shall be commenced within two 15 years after the death, and the damages therein shall be the damages the court or jury 16 may consider fair and just. The amount recovered, if any, shall be exclusively for the 17 benefit of the decedent's spouse and children when the decedent is survived by a 18 spouse or children, or other dependents. When the decedent is survived by no spouse 19 or children or other dependents, the amount recovered shall be administered as other 20 personal property of the decedent but shall be limited to pecuniary loss. When the 21 plaintiff prevails, the trial court shall determine the allowable costs and expenses of 22 the action and may, in its discretion, require notice and hearing thereon. The amount 23 recovered shall be distributed only after payment of all costs and expenses of suit and 24 debts and expenses of administration. 25 * Sec. 3. AS 09.65 is amended by adding a new section to read: 26 Sec. 09.65.145. Liability for injuries or death resulting from livestock 27 activities. (a) Livestock are unpredictable and inherently dangerous. All persons 28 who place themselves in proximity to livestock for any reason involving an activity 29 that includes livestock, subject themselves to serious injury or death and are 30 considered a participant in livestock activity and assume the risk of injury or death 31 caused by the livestock.
01 (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person, and the personal 02 representative of a person, who suffers an injury or death resulting from a livestock 03 activity may not recover civil damages for the injury or death from a livestock activity 04 sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity participant, or the agents or 05 employees of a livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity 06 participant. 07 (c) This section does not affect a civil action for damages resulting from 08 (1) gross negligence or reckless or intentional misconduct of the 09 livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity participant, or 10 agents or employees of the livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional, or 11 livestock activity participant; 12 (2) equipment, tack, or a product provided by the livestock activity 13 sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity participant that the livestock 14 activity sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity participant knows is 15 faulty or defective; 16 (3) the failure of the livestock activity sponsor, livestock professional, 17 or livestock activity participant who provided the livestock to make a reasonable and 18 prudent effort to determine the ability of the participant to safely manage the livestock 19 activity, after taking into account the participant's representation of ability; a 20 participant in a livestock show, livestock sale, or rodeo is presumed to be competent to 21 handle livestock if an entry form is required for the activity and is signed or submitted 22 by the participant. 23 (d) This section does not nullify coverage or an award for an injury to or death 24 of an employee of a livestock activity sponsor or livestock professional if the 25 employee suffers an injury or death resulting from a livestock activity and the injury 26 or death is covered by or subject to workers' compensation provisions under AS 23.30. 27 (e) This section does not prevent or limit the liability of a livestock activity 28 sponsor, livestock professional, or livestock activity participant, or their agents or 29 employees under a liability provision as provided in a law relating to product liability. 30 (f) A livestock activity sponsor may not be held vicariously liable for the acts 31 or omissions of a livestock activity participant or a livestock professional.
01 (g) A person may agree, in writing, to waive the entire right to recover 02 damages resulting from an inherent risk of a livestock activity. 03 (h) This section does not affect the immunity of an owner of unimproved land 04 under AS 09.65.200. 05 (i) In this section, 06 (1) "inherent risk of a livestock activity" means those dangers or 07 conditions that are an integral part of a livestock activity, including 08 (A) the propensity of livestock to behave in ways that may 09 result in injury to a person on or around livestock; 10 (B) the unpredictability of livestock's reaction to sound, sudden 11 movement, and unfamiliar objects or persons, or other animals; 12 (C) hazards or conditions unknown to a livestock activity 13 sponsor; 14 (D) collisions with other livestock or objects; 15 (E) the potential of tack to become dislodged or move in ways 16 that may result in injury to a person on or around a livestock activity; and 17 (F) the potential of a person to negligently engage in conduct 18 that contributes to an injury or death during a livestock activity; 19 (2) "livestock" includes a cow, bison, hog, sheep, goat, musk-ox, yak, 20 pig, caribou, reindeer, elk, rabbit, hamster, guinea pig, turkey, chicken, pheasant, 21 peafowl, pigeon, duck, horse, mule, donkey, camel, llama, or alpaca; "livestock" does 22 not mean a dog or cat; 23 (3) "livestock activity" includes 24 (A) livestock shows, fairs, sales, competitions, performances, 25 or parades that involve any or all breeds of livestock and any of the livestock 26 disciplines, including rodeos, auctions, driving, pulling, judging, cutting, 27 therapeutic riding, and showing; 28 (B) livestock training or teaching activities or both training and 29 teaching activities; 30 (C) boarding or pasturing livestock; 31 (D) testing, inspecting or evaluating livestock belonging to
01 another person, whether or not the owner has received monetary consideration 02 or other thing of value for the use of the livestock or is permitting a prospective 03 purchaser of the livestock to inspect or evaluate the livestock; 04 (E) driving, riding, grooming, traveling, or other livestock 05 activities of any type, however informal or impromptu, that are sponsored by a 06 livestock activity sponsor; 07 (F) placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine, or otherwise 08 preparing livestock for show; and 09 (G) assisting in providing medical treatment to livestock; 10 (4) "livestock activity sponsor" means an individual, group, club, 11 partnership, limited liability company, nonprofit corporation, or corporation operating 12 for profit that sponsors, organizes, or provides the livestock, equipment, tack, or 13 facilities instruction for a livestock activity; 14 (5) "livestock professional" means a person who receives 15 compensation for instructing a participant, renting livestock to a participant for the 16 purpose of engaging in livestock activity, or renting equipment or tack to a participant; 17 (6) "participant" means a person, whether amateur or professional, 18 who engages in a livestock activity or who is near or close to livestock, whether or not 19 a fee is paid to participate in the livestock activity. 20 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 21 read: 22 APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to a civil action that accrues on or after the 23 effective date of this Act.