Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act
Posted: January 9, 2016 Filed under: Equine Activities (Horses, Donkeys, Mules) & Animals, Michigan | Tags: Equine, Equine Activities, Equine Liability Act, Equine Liability Statute, Horse, Horses, Michigan, stable Leave a commentMICHIGAN COMPILED LAWS SERVICE
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This document is current through 2015 Public Act 202 with the exception of Public Acts 160, 167, 170, 173-176, 178-179, 181, 182, 191, and 198.
Chapter 691 Judiciary
Act 351 of 1994 Equine Activity Liability Act
Go to the Michigan Code Archive Directory
MCLS § 691.1662 (2015)
§ 691.1663. Injury, death, or property damage; liability.
§ 691.1664. Liability; exception; waiver.
§ 691.1665. Liability not prevented or limited; conditions.
§ 691.1666. Notice; posting and maintenance of signs; contract; contents of notice.
§ 691.1667. Applicability of act.
§ 691.1661. Short title.
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “equine activity liability act”.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 1, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(1)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals §§ 61, 71
Michigan Law and Practice, Torts § 74
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
Research references:
4 Am Jur 2d, Animals §§ 96-100, 105, 106, 113-115, 122, 134, 136-141
1C Am Jur Pl & Pr Forms, Rev, Animals, §§ 3, 132-140
13 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 473, Knowledge of Animal’s Vicious Propensities
25 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 461, Failure to Use Due Care in Providing Horses for Hire
§ 691.1662. Definitions.
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) “Engage in an equine activity” means riding, training, driving, breeding, being a passenger upon, or providing or assisting in veterinary treatment of an equine, whether mounted or unmounted. Engage in an equine activity includes visiting, touring, or utilizing an equine facility as part of an organized event or activity including the breeding of equines, or assisting a participant or show management. Engage in equine activity does not include spectating at an equine activity, unless the spectator places himself or herself in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity.
(b) “Equine” means horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.
(c) “Equine activity” means any of the following:
(i) An equine show, fair, competition, performance, or parade including, but not limited to, dressage, a hunter and jumper horse show, grand prix jumping, a 3-day event, combined training, a rodeo, riding, driving, pulling, cutting, polo, steeplechasing, English and western performance riding, endurance trail riding, gymkhana games, and hunting.
(ii) Equine training or teaching activities.
(iii) Boarding equines, including their normal daily care.
(iv) Breeding equines, including the normal daily care and activities associated with breeding equines.
(v) Riding, inspecting, or evaluating an equine belonging to another, whether or not the owner receives monetary consideration or another thing of value for the use of the equine or is permitting a prospective purchaser of the equine or an agent to ride, inspect, or evaluate the equine.
(vi) A ride, trip, hunt, or other activity, however informal or impromptu, that is sponsored by an equine activity sponsor.
(vii) Placing or replacing a horseshoe on or hoof trimming of an equine.
(d) “Equine activity sponsor” means an individual, group, club, partnership, or corporation, whether or not operating for profit, that sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity, including, but not limited to, a pony club; 4-H club; hunt club; riding club; school- or college-sponsored class, program, or activity; therapeutic riding program; stable or farm owner; and operator, instructor, or promoter of an equine facility including, but not limited to, a stable, clubhouse, ponyride string, fair, or arena at which the equine activity is held.
(e) “Equine professional” means a person engaged in any of the following for compensation:
(i) Instructing a participant in an equine activity.
(ii) Renting an equine, equipment, or tack to a participant.
(iii) Providing daily care of horses boarded at an equine facility.
(iv) Training an equine.
(v) Breeding of equines for resale or stock replenishment.
(f) “Inherent risk of an equine activity” means a danger or condition that is an integral part of an equine activity, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(i) An equine’s propensity to behave in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to a person on or around it.
(ii) The unpredictability of an equine’s reaction to things such as sounds, sudden movement, and people, other animals, or unfamiliar objects.
(iii) A hazard such as a surface or subsurface condition.
(iv) Colliding with another equine or object.
(g) “Participant” means an individual, whether amateur or professional, engaged in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 2, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(2)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
NOTES TO DECISIONS
Plaintiff, a visitor to a stable, was a “participant” under the Equine Activity Liability Act when she briefly assisted in the care of a horse owned by a friend. Therefore her claim for damages arising from being bitten by a horse was properly dismissed on summary. Amburgey v. Sauder, 238 Mich. App. 228, 605 N.W.2d 84, 1999 Mich. App. LEXIS 282 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999).
Horse owner could invoke MCL § 691.1663 of the Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act (EALA), MCL §§ 691.1661 et seq., although she was not an equine professional or an equine activity sponsor because she fit within the definition of “another person” under § 691.1663 of the EALA. Also, she properly was characterized as an equine participant as that term was defined in MCL § 691.1662. Gardner v. Simon, 445 F. Supp. 2d 786, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57228 (W.D. Mich. 2006).
Rider’s injuries while riding a horse resulted from “an inherent risk of an equine activity” as that phrase was defined under MCL § 691.1662(f) of the Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act, MCL §§ 691.1661 et seq., based on the rider’s testimony that, upon being mounted, the horse got a little antsy and started to raise up on the front end a little bit at which time the rider, who was experienced, began turning the horse in tight circles to settle him down. After turning two circles, the horse bumped his head on a tree; reared up and caught one of his front hoofs in a tree; went over backwards and fell on the rider, injuring the rider. Gardner v. Simon, 445 F. Supp. 2d 786, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57228 (W.D. Mich. 2006).
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals § 73
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
Michigan Digest references:
Animals § 15
Research references:
1C Am Jur Pl & Pr Forms, Rev, Animals, § 1
25 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 461, Failure to Use Due Care in Providing Horses for Hire
§ 691.1663. Injury, death, or property damage; liability.
Sec. 3. Except as otherwise provided in section 5, an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or another person is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant or property damage resulting from an inherent risk of an equine activity. Except as otherwise provided in section 5, a participant or participant’s representative shall not make a claim for, or recover, civil damages from an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or another person for injury to or the death of the participant or property damage resulting from an inherent risk of an equine activity.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 3, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(3)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
NOTES TO DECISIONS
Judgment granting summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) in favor of a horse owner in a neighbor’s personal injury action was affirmed because the neighbor failed to produce evidence in support of her claims under MCL 691.1665(b) and (d) as her injury resulted from an inherent risk of an equine activity and she did not prove otherwise. The claim was barred under MCL 691.1663. Beattie v. Mickalich, 284 Mich. App. 564, 773 N.W.2d 748, 2009 Mich. App. LEXIS 1445 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009), rev’d, 486 Mich. 1060, 784 N.W.2d 38, 2010 Mich. LEXIS 1452 (Mich. 2010).
Horse owner could invoke MCL § 691.1663 of the Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act (EALA), MCL §§ 691.1661 et seq., although she was not an equine professional or an equine activity sponsor because she fit within the definition of “another person” under § 3 of the EALA. Also, she properly was characterized as an equine participant as that term was defined in MCL § 691.1662. Gardner v. Simon, 445 F. Supp. 2d 786, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57228 (W.D. Mich. 2006).
Bar to liability set forth in MCL § 691.1663 of the Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act (EALA), MCL §§ 691.1661 et seq., was subject to MCL § 691.1665, which provided that § 691.1663 of the EALA did not prevent liability for a negligent act or omission that proximately caused an injury. Accordingly, the EALA did not prevent liability on a rider’s claim that a horse owner was negligent in failing to warn the rider about the horse’s dangerous and viscous propensities; and whether the owner acted reasonably by suggesting to the rider that he ride the horse and not warning the rider that the horse was in need of further training, in light of the rider’s extensive experience with horses, was clearly a question of fact for a jury. Gardner v. Simon, 445 F. Supp. 2d 786, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57228 (W.D. Mich. 2006).
Statutory references:
Section 5, above referred to, is § 691.1665.
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals §§ 71, 73
Michigan Law and Practice, Torts § 74
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
Michigan Digest references:
Animals § 15
Research references:
4 Am Jur 2d, Animals §§ 96-100, 105, 106, 113-115, 122, 134, 136-141
1C Am Jur Pl & Pr Forms, Rev, Animals, §§ 3, 132-140
13 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 473, Knowledge of Animal’s Vicious Propensities
25 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 461, Failure to Use Due Care in Providing Horses for Hire
§ 691.1664. Liability; exception; waiver.
Sec. 4. (1) This act does not apply to a horse race meeting that is regulated by the racing law of 1980, Act No. 327 of the Public Acts of 1980, being sections 431.61 to 431.88 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.
(2) Two persons may agree in writing to a waiver of liability beyond the provisions of this act and such waiver shall be valid and binding by its terms.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 4, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(4)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
NOTES TO DECISIONS
The Equine Activity Liability Act (EALA) provides immunity to commercial riding stables from claims for damages resulting from the inherent risks of horseback riding and being around horses, but the immunity provision does not apply to horse race meetings; a horse race meeting within the meaning of the EALA includes the activity of exercising a race horse at a track in preparation for a race; while the EALA did not confer immunity on a race track in a suit brought by a exercise rider who was injured when he was thrown from a horse, the release signed by the plaintiff was broad enough to protect the defendant from liability. Cole v. Ladbroke Racing Mich., Inc., 241 Mich. App. 1, 614 N.W.2d 169, 2000 Mich. App. LEXIS 110 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000), app. denied, 463 Mich. 972, 623 N.W.2d 595, 2001 Mich. LEXIS 223 (Mich. 2001).
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals § 71
Michigan Law and Practice, Torts § 74
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
Michigan Digest references:
Animals § 13
Research references:
4 Am Jur 2d, Animals §§ 96-100, 105, 106, 113-115, 122, 134, 136-141
25 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 461, Failure to Use Due Care in Providing Horses for Hire
Legal periodicals:
Fayz, Annual Survey of Michigan Law, June 1, 1999-May 31, 2000: Torts, 47 Wayne L Rev 719 (2001)
§ 691.1664. Liability; exception; waiver.
Sec. 4. (1) This act does not apply to a horse race meeting that is regulated by the racing law of 1980, Act No. 327 of the Public Acts of 1980, being sections 431.61 to 431.88 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.
(2) Two persons may agree in writing to a waiver of liability beyond the provisions of this act and such waiver shall be valid and binding by its terms.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 4, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(4)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
NOTES TO DECISIONS
The Equine Activity Liability Act (EALA) provides immunity to commercial riding stables from claims for damages resulting from the inherent risks of horseback riding and being around horses, but the immunity provision does not apply to horse race meetings; a horse race meeting within the meaning of the EALA includes the activity of exercising a race horse at a track in preparation for a race; while the EALA did not confer immunity on a race track in a suit brought by a exercise rider who was injured when he was thrown from a horse, the release signed by the plaintiff was broad enough to protect the defendant from liability. Cole v. Ladbroke Racing Mich., Inc., 241 Mich. App. 1, 614 N.W.2d 169, 2000 Mich. App. LEXIS 110 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000), app. denied, 463 Mich. 972, 623 N.W.2d 595, 2001 Mich. LEXIS 223 (Mich. 2001).
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals § 71
Michigan Law and Practice, Torts § 74
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
Michigan Digest references:
Animals § 13
Research references:
4 Am Jur 2d, Animals §§ 96-100, 105, 106, 113-115, 122, 134, 136-141
25 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 461, Failure to Use Due Care in Providing Horses for Hire
Legal periodicals:
Fayz, Annual Survey of Michigan Law, June 1, 1999-May 31, 2000: Torts, 47 Wayne L Rev 719 (2001)
§ 691.1665. Liability not prevented or limited; conditions.
Sec. 5. Section 3 does not prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or another person if the equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or other person does any of the following:
(a) Provides equipment or tack and knows or should know that the equipment or tack is faulty, and the equipment or tack is faulty to the extent that it is a proximate cause of the injury, death, or damage.
(b) Provides an equine and fails to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine activity and to determine the ability of the participant to safely manage the particular equine. A person shall not rely upon a participant’s representations of his or her ability unless these representations are supported by reasonably sufficient detail.
(c) Owns, leases, rents, has authorized use of, or otherwise is in lawful possession and control of land or facilities on which the participant sustained injury because of a dangerous latent condition of the land or facilities that is known to the equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or other person and for which warning signs are not conspicuously posted.
(d) If the person is an equine activity sponsor or equine professional, commits an act or omission that constitutes a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant, and that is a proximate cause of the injury, death, or damage.
(e) If the person is not an equine activity sponsor or equine professional, commits a negligent act or omission that constitutes a proximate cause of the injury, death, or damage.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 5, eff March 30, 1995; amended by Pub Acts 2015, No. 87, eff September 21, 2015.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(5)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
Amendment Notes
The 2015 amendment by PA 87 rewrote (d), which formerly read: “Commits a negligent act or omission that constitutes a proximate cause of the injury, death, or damage”; and added (e).
NOTES TO DECISIONS
Judgment granting summary disposition under MCR 2.116(C)(10) in favor of a horse owner in a neighbor’s personal injury action was affirmed because the neighbor failed to produce evidence in support of her claims under MCL 691.1665(b) and (d) as her injury resulted from an inherent risk of an equine activity and she did not prove otherwise. The claim was barred under MCL 691.1663. Beattie v. Mickalich, 284 Mich. App. 564, 773 N.W.2d 748, 2009 Mich. App. LEXIS 1445 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009), rev’d, 486 Mich. 1060, 784 N.W.2d 38, 2010 Mich. LEXIS 1452 (Mich. 2010).
Bar to liability set forth in MCL § 691.1663 of the Michigan Equine Activity Liability Act (EALA), MCL §§ 691.1661 et seq., was subject to MCL § 691.1665, which provided that § 691.1663 of the EALA did not prevent liability for a negligent act or omission that proximately caused an injury. Accordingly, the EALA did not prevent liability on a rider’s claim that a horse owner was negligent in failing to warn the rider about the horse’s dangerous and viscous propensities; and whether the owner acted reasonably by suggesting to the rider that he ride the horse and not warning the rider that the horse was in need of further training, in light of the rider’s extensive experience with horses, was clearly a question of fact for a jury. Gardner v. Simon, 445 F. Supp. 2d 786, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57228 (W.D. Mich. 2006).
Statutory references:
Section 3, above referred to, is § 691.1663.
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals § 71
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
Michigan Digest references:
Animals § 15
Research references:
4 Am Jur 2d, Animals §§ 96-100, 105, 106, 113-115, 122, 134, 136-141
1C Am Jur Pl & Pr Forms, Rev, Animals, §§ 3, 132-140
25 Am Jur Proof of Facts 2d 461, Failure to Use Due Care in Providing Horses for Hire
Act 351 of 1994 Equine Activity Liability Act prec 691.1661
AN ACT to regulate civil liability related to equine activities; and to prescribe certain duties for equine professionals.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
HISTORY: ACT 351, 1994, p 1749, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”
§ 691.1666. Notice; posting and maintenance of signs; contract; contents of notice.
Sec. 6. (1) An equine professional shall post and maintain signs that contain the warning notice set forth in subsection (3). The signs shall be placed in a clearly visible location in close proximity to the equine activity. The warning notice shall appear on the sign in conspicuous letters no less than 1 inch in height.
(2) A written contract entered into by an equine professional for providing professional services, instruction, or rental of equipment, tack, or an equine to a participant, whether or not the contract involves an equine activity on or off the location or site of the equine professional’s business, shall contain in clearly readable print the warning notice set forth in subsection (3).
(3) A sign or contract described in this section shall contain substantially the following warning notice:
WARNING
Under the Michigan equine activity liability act, an equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in an equine activity resulting from an inherent risk of the equine activity.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 6, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(6)
Editor’s notes:
Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995, provides:
“Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.”.
LexisNexis(R) Michigan analytical references:
Michigan Law and Practice, Animals § 72
ALR notes:
Liability of owner or bailor of horse for injury by horse to hirer or bailee thereof, 6 ALR4th 358
Validity, construction, and effect of agreement exempting operator of amusement facility from liability for personal injury or death of patron, 54 ALR5th 513
Liability of owner of horse to person injured or killed when kicked, bitten, knocked down, and the like, 85 ALR2d 1161
Liability of youth camp, its agents or employees, or of scouting leader or organization, for injury to child participant in program, 88 ALR3d 1236
§ 691.1667. Applicability of act.
Sec. 7. This act applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective date of this act.
HISTORY: Pub Acts 1994, No. 351, § 7, eff March 30, 1995.
NOTES:
Prior codification:
MSA § 12.418(7)
Recreation Law 