Landlord Liability
Landlord Liability
A doctorate dissertation written by Laurel Allen Dog Park Benefits and
Liabilities, which discusses benefits and liabilities of dog parks in New Jersey.
Allen states, “a landlord, who opens his land for public recreation use free of
charge, owes no legal duty of care to a recreational user to guard, warn or make
the premises reasonably safe. As a result, in the absence of a fee for the use of
the land, there is generally no landowner liability for negligence acts or omissions
which cause injuries to recreational users immunity under the Recreation Use
Statues (RUS); however, will not apply if the landowner is guilty of willful (i.e.,
intentional) or wanton misconduct (i.e., utter disregard for the physical well-being
of others) which causes injury to the recreational user. Where the lower legal
standard of care (willful/wanton misconduct) is applicable under a RUS,
landowner liability is highly unlikely. To establish liability, the injured plaintiff
must, as a minimum, demonstrate the landowner’s utter failure to take the most
minimal precautions, in the face of an extremely dangerous condition know to the
landowner, but not apparent to the recreational user (Stecchi, 2006)