Charpentier

Plaintiff Gary Charpentier appeals from a judgment dismissing his action as to defendant Maijorie Von Geldern after the trial court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The primary question presented is whether a private owner of land bordering a navigable river is entitled to the protection of Civil Code section 846 when a person enters onto that land for access to the river for a recreational purpose, is injured while so using the river, and the landowner has done nothing to obstruct or impede that use. We answer in the affirmative and conclude the trial court properly granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment when it was shown there were no triable issues of fact as to plaintiff’s recreational purpose in entering onto defendant’s land and as to the absence of willful or malicious misconduct by defendant.

The following undisputed facts have been gleaned from plaintiffs complaint and from the papers submitted on the summary judgment motion:

On August 2, 1981, defendant was the owner of approximately 51 acres of property bordering the Feather River. On that date, and unknown to defendant, plaintiff entered onto defendant’s property for the purposes of…