| Horses: Attractive, but a nuisance? Part II Posted: 21 Dec 2009 05:32 PM PST  You wish. Had to share the t-shirt that cropped up in my Google search results. What can I say? Men. Anyhoo... Back to the legal issue...Are horses an attractive nuisance? Well, it's kind of fuzzy. It depends... - States vary in how (or whether) the attractive nuisance doctrine has been codified into law. Most states have adopted this doctrine in some way, shape, or form -- one exception is Ohio.
- Past court interpretations of state law will inform decisions about a case before the court. In Kentucky and Louisiana, for example, horses in a pasture are not considered an attractive nuisance.
- Why the injured party was on the property in the first place? It matters. Property owners have the highest duty to protect invitees (people invited on to the property), especially someone on the property for business. Owners must show active vigilance to protect them.The property owner must show reasonable care to protect licensees -- people allowed on the property, such as hunters or trail riders. For trespassers, the owner need only refrain from wanton maliciousness (note: this doesn't apply to children because of the attractive nuisance doctrine).
- The nature of the horse in question is fairly important in determining owner liability. Horses known to be gentle, who no one could forsee to be a danger to others, would not likely qualify as an attractive nuisance.
There's also a handy checklist!In many states, there is a sort of "legal liability checklist" that is used to evaluate attractive nuisance cases. I'm frankly a little fuzzy on why all the states would have more or less the same list, but they do. At any rate, in Kentucky law the things that make an owner liable are shown below. Specifically, the property owner is liable if... - He or she has reason to know that children trespass on the property
- He or she knows there is something (e.g., a horse) on the property that poses a risk to children
- He or she knows that children will not perceive the danger of the situation
- He or she fails to exercise reasonable care to protect the children
- The dangerous situation is easily corrected
In the end, the best advice is to find an attorney familiar with local and state laws regarding attractive nuisance. RESOURCES Making the attractive nuisance less inviting from the American Quarter Horse Association Is a horse ever considered an attractive nuisance? from Complete Guide for the Horse Business by Janet English Liability issues from The Horse MagazineThe complete equine legal and business Handbook section on horses as an attractive nuisanceAre horses an attractive nuisance? from the Equine Legal Edge Equine attractive nuisance NSBA August 2008  |
You wish.
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