Wang

To encourage landowners to allow public use of the land for recreational purposes, Civil Code section 846 shields landowners from liability “for any injury to person or property caused by any act of the person to whom permission has been granted,” subject to statutory exceptions. (Civ. Code, § 846, par. 3, subpart (c); unless otherwise set forth, statutory section references are to the Civil Code.) In this case of first impression, we hold section 846, paragraph 3, subpart (c) shields landowners from liability where such recreational users of the land cause injury to persons outside the premises who are uninvolved in the recreational use of the land, even where the plaintiffs also allege that the landowners’ neglect of their own property-based duties contributed to the injury.

A horse ran away from a meadow owned by defendants Gregory Nibbelink, Bevlee Nibbelink, Gary D. Nibbelink, Linda A. Nibbelink, Robert G. Goulding, Diane K. Goulding, and Nibbelink Revocable Family Trust (meadow landowners) onto adjacent property known as Strawberry Lodge (Lodge). The horse trampled plaintiff Yan Wang as she and her husband, plaintiff Tyler Raihala, got out of their car to dine at…