LOC News
Recreational Immunity at Risk After Oregon Supreme Court Denies Review
On Thursday, the Oregon Supreme Court refused to hear the city of Newport’s appeal from the lower Oregon Court of Appeals opinion impacting public entities and recreational immunity. This case involved a slip and fall claim where the plaintiff, while on their way to the beach, was injured while walking their dog on an improved trail which was owned and maintained by the city of Newport.
The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the city on its recreational immunity defense. The trial court determined “there are no genuine issues of material fact in dispute” and that under state law, the plaintiff was “using the trail for recreational purposes” by “walking her dog on a trail to the beach with a friend,” and thus entitled to recreational immunity from any liability. The plaintiff appealed the judgment, arguing in relevant part that there are issues of material fact concerning whether her principal purpose (as required under state law) in walking on the trail was recreational or to access Agate Beach.
The Court of Appeals decided that an issue of material fact existed about whether the plaintiff’s use of the trail was recreational in nature or only for the purpose of accessing the beach. If, on remand, the principal purpose of the plaintiff using the trail was for accessing the beach, the Court of Appeals opined that recreational use immunity would not apply and therefore the city would be liable for the plaintiff’s injuries. The city of Newport petitioned the Oregon Supreme Court to review the opinion. The LOC also urged the Supreme Court to take on the matter. Regardless, the court denied review.
The LOC lobbying team will be pursuing a legislative amendment to address this issue. Questions about this effort may be directed to Scott Winkels at swinkels@orcities.org.
LOC members with questions on how this impacts their cities are encouraged to contact their legal counsel and CIS risk manager. Further guidance and recommendations will be forthcoming.
Contacts: Jayme Pierce, General Counsel – jpierce@orcities.org
Scott Winkels, Lobbyist – swinkels@orcities.org
Last Updated 10/6/23