Jordan Wilson said he had made the jump hundreds of times. He had ridden the jumps 20 to 30 times that day. Then he changed bikes.
© Ivan Hafizov / PhotoXpress
While attempting a double jump on a 250cc motorcycle, instead of his 125cc bike, Mr. Wilson crashed and was severely injured.
Mr. Wilson sued the property owner, David Dossett, who had built a track or trail on which he had placed multiple jumps for motorcycles. Mr. Dossett allowed people to ride on his property, even when he was not there, which was the case on the day of the accident. However, citing Tennessee’s Recreational Use Law, the Court of Appeals recently upheld the trial court’s ruling that Mr. Dossett was not liable for Mr. Wilson’s injuries.
Under Tennessee law, a property owner (or any person controlling the land) “owes no duty of care” to keep his or her land safe for use by others for recreational activities –including many things from bird watching to horse-back riding to spelunking. One exception to this general rule is that a property owner may be liable for gross negligence “that results in a failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use, structure or activity.” Tenn. Code Ann. 70-7-104(a)(1). Gross negligence has been described by the courts as a negligent act done with “utter unconcern” or “reckless disregard” or “a conscious indifference” to the safety of others.
The court that found that the evidence was undisputed that the track was not “gratuitously hazardous” and maybe more importantly, Mr. Wilson could not identify anything that Mr. Dossett had done wrong. Despite the terribly injuries, the court could not find any facts so support a finding of gross negligence.
Wilson v. Dossett, Tenn. Ct. App. No. E2012-01251-COA-R3-CV (June 14, 2013).
