Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1054 By Senator Calatayud 38-00389-23 20231054__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to private campground liability; 3 creating s. 513.201, F.S.; defining terms; providing 4 civil liability protection for private campground 5 owners or specified employees of private campgrounds 6 for injury or death or property damage that results 7 from the inherent risk of camping; providing 8 exceptions; requiring private campground operators to 9 post and maintain signs and to enter into written 10 contracts that meet certain requirements and warn of 11 the inherent risk of camping; requiring a private 12 campground operator, owner, or employee to comply with 13 certain requirements in order to invoke immunity; 14 providing for the award of reasonable costs and 15 attorney fees under certain circumstances; providing 16 construction; providing an effective date. 17 18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19 20 Section 1. Section 513.201, Florida Statutes, is created to 21 read: 22 513.201 Immunity from liability for inherent risk of 23 camping at private campgrounds; posting and notification 24 required.— 25 (1) As used in this section, the term: 26 (a) “Camping” means all aspects of visiting, staying at, 27 using, and departing from a private campground, regardless of 28 the type of lodging a guest visited, stayed at, used, or 29 departed from at the private campground. 30 (b) “Inherent risk of camping” means the danger or 31 condition assumed as a part of camping, including the dangers 32 posed by any of the following, at a private campground: 33 1. Features of the natural world, such as trees, naturally 34 occurring infectious agents, tree stumps, roots, brush, rocks, 35 mud, sand, standing and moving water, and soil. 36 2. Uneven or unpredictable terrain. 37 3. Natural bodies of water and facilities allowing the use 38 of natural bodies of water, including piers, docks, and swimming 39 and aquatic sports or recreation facilities or areas. 40 4. Another camper or visitor at the private campground 41 acting in a negligent manner in which the private campground 42 owner or employees of the private campground are not involved. 43 5. A lack of lighting, including lighting at a campsite. 44 6. Campfires contained in or outside of a fire pit or 45 enclosure provided by the private campground; bonfires or grass 46 or brush fires; wildfires; and forest fires. 47 7. Weather. 48 8. Insects, birds, and other wildlife. 49 9. Violations or disregard by a camper or visitor of any 50 posted or established safety rules or posted signs communicating 51 warnings. 52 10. Actions by a camper or visitor which exceed the 53 physical limitations or abilities of the camper or visitor. 54 11. Animals of other campers or visitors which cause 55 injury, unless the private campground has accepted 56 responsibility for care of the animal. 57 12. Fireworks set off by a camper, visitor, or offsite 58 entity not authorized by the private campground operator. 59 13. Any person coming onto a campsite who is not reported 60 to the private campground operator or an employee of the private 61 campground. 62 (c) “Private campground” means a facility that provides 63 sites on which recreational vehicles, camping units, and tents 64 may be placed for transient occupancy and that is owned and 65 operated, directly or indirectly, by a private property owner. 66 The term also includes a recreational vehicle park’s lodging 67 park or recreational camp, as those terms are defined in s. 68 513.01. 69 (d) “Private campground operator” means the owner, 70 operator, keeper, lessor, proprietor, manager, assistant 71 manager, desk clerk, agent, or employee of a private campground, 72 including a lodging park, a recreational vehicle park, or a 73 recreational camp who is designated as the individual solely 74 responsible for the daily operation of the park or camp pursuant 75 to this chapter. 76 (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a private 77 campground owner, a private campground operator, and any 78 employee or officer of a private campground, private campground 79 owner, or private campground operator are immune from civil 80 liability for acts or omissions related to camping at a private 81 campground if, as a result of an inherent risk of camping, a 82 person or animal is injured or killed or property is damaged at 83 the private campground. 84 (3) The immunity provisions of subsection (2) do not apply 85 if the person seeking immunity does any of the following: 86 (a) Intentionally causes the injury, death, or property 87 damage. 88 (b) Commits an act or omission that constitutes willful or 89 wanton disregard for the safety of the camper visitor, and such 90 act or omission proximately causes injury, damage, or death to 91 the camper or visitor. 92 (c) Fails to conspicuously post warning signs of a 93 dangerous, inconspicuous condition known to him or her on the 94 property that he or she owns, leases, rents, or is otherwise in 95 lawful control or possession of, if he or she is aware of the 96 condition due to a prior injury involving the same location or 97 the same mechanism of injury. 98 (4) Each private campground operator shall provide notice 99 to campers of the inherent risk of camping. 100 (a) The private campground operator shall post a sign 101 warning of the inherent risk of camping in a clearly visible 102 location at the entrance to the private campground. The notice 103 posted on the sign must consist of black letters that are at 104 least 1 inch in height each, with sufficient color contrast to 105 be clearly visible. 106 (b) Each written contract entered into by a private 107 campground or private campground operator with a transient guest 108 must contain in clearly readable print the notice of inherent 109 risk. 110 (c) The sign and contract must contain the following notice 111 of the inherent risk of camping: 112 113 WARNING 114 115 Under Florida law, a private campground owner, 116 operator, or employee is not liable for the injury or 117 death of a participant, or damage or loss to property, 118 in camping at a private campground if such injury, 119 death, damage, or loss results from the inherent risk 120 of camping. The inherent risk of camping includes, but 121 is not limited to, risks of injury inherent to land, 122 equipment, weather, animals, and actions by other 123 campers, as well as the potential for you to act in a 124 negligent manner that may contribute to your own 125 injury, death, damage, or loss. You are assuming the 126 risk of participating in camping. 127 128 (d) A private campground operator or owner or an employee 129 of a private campground, or the owner of the underlying land on 130 which the camping occurs, may not invoke the privilege of 131 immunity provided by this section if he or she fails to comply 132 with this subsection. 133 (5) In a civil action filed pursuant to this section 134 against a private campground or a private campground operator 135 for loss, injury, or damage resulting from an activity covered 136 under the inherent risk of camping, the court must assess and 137 award the reasonable costs of defense, including reasonable 138 attorney fees, against the plaintiff or responsible party if the 139 court determines that the immunity from liability under this 140 section applies to the private campground or private campground 141 operator. 142 (6) This section does not limit the immunity created by 143 other sections of Florida law, by contractual waiver, or by 144 common-law assumptions of risk. 145 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.