New

Plaintiffs, Richard New and Bruce A. Williams, were injured while riding their motorcycles on the property of defendant, Consolidated Rock Products. In a pretrial ruling, the superior court held that defendant was entitled to the protection of Civil Code section 846, which immunizes landholders from liability to nonpaying recreational users of their property, except where the landholder willfully or maliciously fails to warn or guard against a dangerous condition. By way of a special verdict, the jury found that defendant had acted willfully or in conscious disregard of its duty to plaintiffs. The jury further found that plaintiff Williams had been damaged in the amount of $1,429,927.69 and that plaintiff New had been damaged in the amount of $346,506.43. The jury assessed plaintiff Williams’ comparative negligence at 30 percent and plaintiff New’s comparative negligence at 32 percent. Defendant’s motion for new trial was denied.

Defendant appeals, contending that the jury was erroneously instructed as to defendant’s duty of care under Civil Code section 846, and that expert testimony was erroneously admitted in evidence. Plaintiffs have filed a cross-appeal arguing that…

I concur in the result reached by the majority.

From defendant’s point of view, this is a case where defendant is being held liable for injuries suffered by trespassers even though defendant has tried valiantly, but in vain, to hold off trespassers who persist in riding roughshod over both defendant’s rights and its land in spite of all defendant’s reasonable efforts to deter them. That was arguably true up to the time of the injuries involved in this case.

Viewing the evidence as we must on appeal most favorably to the prevailing party in the court below, the relevant facts are as follows:

Over the years defendant’s property was widely used by motorcyclists. This was a daily problem for defendant, and worse on weekends. In an attempt to deter such use, defendant hired a security guard on weekends and posted signs reading “No Trespassing Quarry Property This Property May Be Used At Any Time For Excavation” along the main haul road, the road used by defendant’s trucks to carry loads from the quarry. The no trespassing signs were constantly vandalized, but regularly replaced by defendant. These measures were ineffective in deterring use of the property by motorcyclists.

The…

Plaintiffs, Richard New and Bruce A. Williams, were injured while riding their motorcycles on the property of defendant, Consolidated Rock Products. In a pretrial ruling, the superior court held that defendant was entitled to the protection of Civil Code section 846, which immunizes landholders from liability to nonpaying recreational users of their property, except where the landholder willfully or maliciously fails to warn or guard against a dangerous condition. By way of a special verdict, the jury found that defendant had acted willfully or in conscious disregard of its duty to plaintiffs. The jury further found that plaintiff Williams had been damaged in the amount of $1,429,927.69 and that plaintiff New had been damaged in the amount of $346,506.43. The jury assessed plaintiff Williams' comparative negligence at 30 percent and plaintiff New's comparative negligence at 32 percent. Defendant's motion for new trial was denied.

Defendant appeals, contending that the jury was erroneously instructed as to defendant's duty of care under Civil Code section 846, and that expert testimony was erroneously admitted in evidence. Plaintiffs have filed a…