Landowners deserve liability protection

The recreational use of liability protection bills, House File 605 and Senate File 413, are stalled in the Iowa Legislature. The bills would have restored landowner liability protection for recreational use of property, which has been in place for over 40 years. The law protected landowners if they let others use their property for free, for hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, mushroom hunting, swimming, etc. If the landowners charged a fee, the landowner would be liable.

A dairy farmer near Oelwein hosted a group of school children; a chaperon fell and broke her leg. She sued the farmer. The case went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court. The court ruled in her favor, invalidating the law that had given property owners liability protection.

The easiest thing for property owners to do is to close their property and eliminate the liability. The losers are the people who were using other people's property for free.

If you are concerned about this issue, contact your state representative and senator.

Robert Ritscher

Keystone