Close the Liability Loophole, Not the MDC Trails
Recent features by Rick Green at the Hartford Courant have shined a spotlight on a gaping loophole in the state's recreational liability law that must be closed. Towns and municipal entities like the MDC (Metropolitan District Commission), a non-profit municipal corporation, that make their lands available for public recreation should do so without fear of more personal injury lawsuits. Of course, CFPA has a very direct interest in this matter since approximately 3.5 miles of the Metacomet/New England Trail (the nation's newest national scenic trail, which is maintained by CFPA's great trail volunteers) crosses the MDC property.
Links to some of Rick Green's recent features follow:
May 11th Blog: http://blogs.courant.com/rick_green/2010/05/lawsuit-verdict-may-shut-mdc-r.html
May 28th Article: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-green-0528-20100528-16,0,6325795.column
The state's recreational use statute currently provides immunity to private landowners and utilities that permit free access to their properties. However, the protection enjoyed by private landowners has not been fully enjoyed by towns and municipal entities like the MDC for almost 15 years. In 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the right of a private individual to sue a municipality when she sustained a leg injury while competing in a high school tennis tournament on a public tennis court in Wilton.
In that case (Conway vs. the Town of Wilton), the Supreme Court also found that 1) municipalities didn't need immunity from liability because they already had some immunity under common law; 2) municipalities were already providing recreation to the public free of charge, so there was no need to incentivize them; and 3) municipal lands were provided to the public through taxes citizens paid, so they were not truly being provided free of charge. The sad effect of this unfortunate ruling has been to slow and sometimes kill the plans of towns that might otherwise provide recreational amenities like trails for fear of liability.
For decades, the MDC has made available for public recreation over 41 miles of trails on the 2,800 acres they own around the West Hartford/Farmington Reservoirs. We are extremely thankful for this recreational gift that the MDC has provided for the public's enjoyment, and we hope the access to this jewel will continue. We ask the state Legislature to do its part by taking action to close the loophole in the state's recreational liability statute. Showing leadership on this matter will help ensure that public lands are enjoyed by the public, and doing nothing will only ensure that more towns will get cold feet and/or consider closing important recreational facilities to avoid litigation.
If you'd like to get more involved with CFPA's efforts to close this liability loophole for towns and entities like the MDC, please contact our Executive Director, Eric Hammerling at 860-346-2372 or ehammerling at ctwoodlands dot org.
If you are interested in learning more about this issue and may like to sign an online petition, please visit our friends at www.savethemdctrails.org .
