Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Liability question

Our pond is 2 acres. We co-own it with a neighbor and the property line runs roughly through the middle of it. I had a dock built on our side of the pond and installed a removable dock ladder. Our neighbor is in the process of building a floating dock for their use so, in the mean time we offered to let them use our dock and ladder whenever they want. They always ask in advance before using it anyway. Yesterday they told me that they were having the church youth group over on Friday and wanted to know of it was OK if they used my dock and ladder.

I'm sure every state's laws are different but if someone gets hurt is this a lawsuit waiting to happen?

We carry a substantial personal liability umbrella policy. We also post our property and provide reasonable protection where we deem necessary. For instance, we put a gate across our deck/dock entrance. Do I care if somebody walks out there? No, not really. Do I care if something bad happens, should somebody walk out there? Yep.
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Man, you can't be too careful. If nothing else, make sure you have adequate liability insurance....from day 1.
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I will be curious to see the expert responses on the co-owner thing.

I think the only answer is yes. Not everyone is "sue-happy" but all it takes is one person. Of course, no one wants anyone to get hurt.

I also don't know how clear cut the lines of ownership and the associated liabilities are when a property line goes through a body of water.

ewest gave a good presentation very related to your questions. One of the things he suggested was to carefully consider all of the areas where you are exposed even if they seem so remote, and then protect yourself from all of it.

If you've granted permission, you've started to connect the dots to yourself as a responsible party.

Are there lifeguards, safety devices, etc. etc. ?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to rain on a parade. On the other side of the coin, it's a very nice thing to do for some kids.

We have an umbrella policy. When my son's 2nd grade class came out for their nature day they pointed out that their Libility Release includes a secton that covers the property owner as well as the school.

Might ask if the church group has a similier disclaimer if they use any forms at all. Ours does for some youth group activities.

We have liability insurance on our land, for sure.

Mess you up bad if you don't have it.

We have an Umbrella policy AND require liability releases signed by people coming onto our property (or their guardians, if they're underage).

The first clause of Theocity's release is very interesting:

"-Thou shalt hold Theo harmless should Theo shoot thou should thou gullet-hook a fish."

Next...

RobA,
The quick easy answer is yes, you could be sued if someone was injured. There have been law suits filed against property owners by people that have been injured on their property while tresspassing (obviously)without the permission of the owner. Our common sense and values tell us this is not right and should not happen but in fact is does happen. If someone is injured on your property with or without your permission you could still be sued, now wether they can win the suit is another question, but you could be out a lot of money just defending a suit. Most liability policies will pay to defend you in addition to paying for a settlement up to your policy limits.

I have mentioned this before on the forum, but you want to "BE SURE" that your underlying liability policy and Umbrella Policy will provide coverage for "Farming & Ranching" exposures. Please check with your agent and get it in writing because I know for a fact that some Insurance Companies policies exclude coverage for these operations. You do not want to find this out after the fact.

Most churches have a liability release or waiver they have people sign before attending an activity. If it were me I would have the church include me (or my entity) on the waiver. I would also ask the church to provide me with a Certificate of Insurance from their Insurance Agent showing my as an "Additional Insured" under the churches liability policy. There should be no additional charge to the church to have this done and it would make their policy primary.

It is a shame that we have to consider these things just to share our property with a church or anyone else for that matter.

Usually I don't answer to many legal questions here - for obvious reasons.

fishinglth is dead on with his answer. Good job.

The only other thing I would add is to ask the neighbor for an indemnity from him to you just in case.. Check with your insurance agent.

I wouldn't have a problem telling your neighbor that you are not comfortable with the arrangement and you would prefer he invite others over when HE gets HIS dock complete. And I wouldn't feel bad about it in the least.

I concur as well with fishinglth' answer.

I am a CPCU but don't answer insurance questions easily since I am not in that business anymore. I do keep up my credential and pay attention though.

One more cat exits the bag of stuff I have done.....!

Yeah, but can you measure the tensile strength of an earthworm using duct tape and a bicycle?

Careful, PETA may be watching...

Theo's is not saying that the earthworm is harmed.

It's merely implied.

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The Granville HS basketball team is gonna be P O'd when they discover this experiment...
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I wonder if they make a "bigfoot" version of that bicycle for off roading?

Remember, Even if the lawsuit is frivilous and eventually thrown out or even won, YOU will have to pay a lawyer big bucks to defend it! Liability insurance SHOULD cover those expenses.

Even burgalars breaking into homes have successfully sued, and won, medical costs for injuries sustained while robbing you!

Theo, whatwas the tensile strength of that earthworm you tested? My Newton Meter doesn't measure that low a value.

Those newton-meters are real joules!

That just ergs me! Dwight and Theo, ya'll realize you're posting to a small target audience don't you?

The ability to hit a small target is the sign of a good marksman.

Or the sign of a dork.

Ya know, Abbott got 70% of the money to Costello's 30% for being the straight man.

You've just made me realize that there is not enough syndicated Abbot & Costello on anymore. I used to watch the B/W sydicated shows on Sunday mornings as a kid. Great stuff. Don't get me started about the Adam's Family (...you dork).