October 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 28

L AW R E V I E W

No Warning of Nuisance Bear Threat to Campers
By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

O

n July 19, 2013, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that the Utah Supreme
Court ruled " the state had a duty to protect a boy killed by [a] bear. "
In so doing, the article noted that the Utah justices had also ruled that
" a bear is not a natural condition " under a state immunity statute (www.sltrib.
com/sltrib/news/56618065-78/ives-bear-family-state.html.csp).
Subsequently, on July 25, 2013, the Salt Lake Tribune devoted one of its online
" Trib Talk " chat sessions to this incident and the broader liability issue in a discussion entitled " Utah bear ruling and outdoor recreation " (www.sltrib.com/
sltrib/entertainment2/56640025-223/bear-utah-recreation-ives.html.csp).
News reports created quite a stir
about the " implications " of this
" court ruling on bears in Utah. "
Would the holding in this particular
case create a " huge precedent " that
would " apply to snakes, and other
noxious or poisonous wildlife and insects " ? If public landowners were liable for wildlife and insects, there was
concern that the " net effect " would
be to " close down campgrounds and
restrict public access - that is the

26

Parks & Recreation

only way they [public landowners]
could protect the public. "
Generally, landowner liability for
attacks by wild animals, including
bears, should be the exception rather
than the rule. This particular bear attack, however, presents one of those
rare situations that triggered the exception to the general rule. In particular, agencies in control of the land
had specific notice and knowledge of
a particular nuisance bear in the area

| O C T O B E R 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

and failed to implement their own
procedures to warn campers of an
immediate threat. Most importantly,
the fatal attack by the very same nuisance bear was very close in time and
location to an earlier attack.
Federal District Court
The fatal bear attack at issue produced
several published opinions in the federal and state courts. One of the earlier federal decisions, Francis v. United
States (C.D. Ut. 1/30/2009) was described in an article entitled " Fatal
Bear Attacks Test Immunity Laws " in
the December 2009 Law Review column in Parks & Recreation Magazine
(http://cehdclass.gmu.edu/jkozlows
/lawarts/12DEC09.pdf).
Subsequently, in 2011, the federal district court revisited the case
of Francis v. United States, Case No.



October 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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