Yesterday, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals handed down an opinion in a case styled Hilz v. Riedel, reversing the trail court’s summary judgment granted in favor of a defendant based on Chapter 87 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code (the “Act”).
Case Background: Thirteen-year-old Ciarra Hilz was injured at her friend Steven’s house while riding a “five-year-old male quarter horse” by the name of “Logan.” Logan belonged to Steven’s dad, Richard Riedel.
Ciarra’s father, Greg, claimed that he told Richard not to allow Ciarra to ride outside of the round-pen located on Richard’s property. Richard claimed that Greg never said anything about where he wanted Ciarra to ride horses.
Ciarra started her ride in the round pen, but then rode out into the pasture afterwards. While Ciarra was riding in the pasture, Logan “bolted” and ran Ciarra into a tree, causing a tree limb to impale Ciarra’s side. Ciarra was hospitalized for a week and had multiple surgeries.
Greg sued Richard Hilz on his own behalf and on behalf of Ciarra. Richard filed a motion for summary judgment under Section 87.003 of the Act, which, prior to its amendment in 2011 stated,
[e]xcept as provided by Section 87.004, any person…is not liable for…damages arising from the personal injury or death of a participant in an equine activity…if the…injury results from the dangers or conditions that are an inherent risk of an equine activity.
Richard’s motion further addressed the reasons why he was not liable under the exceptions to the Act provided in Section 87.004(2) [failure to make a reasonable and prudent effort to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine activity] and 87.004(3) [dangerous latent condition of the land].
However, Greg had amended his petition to add an allegation that the exception provided in Section 87.004(4) [commission of an act or omission with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant] before filing his summary judgment response.
The Appeal: The Fort Worth Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Richard, holding that:
1) a fact issue precluding summary judgment existed as to the exception found in Section 87.004(2) because Greg claimed that he told Richard not to let Ciarra ride outside the round pen; and
2) Because Richard did not amend his motion for summary judgment to include the exception found in Section 87.004(4), summary judgment was improper on that claim.
Take Aways: Defendants relying upon the Act in a motion for summary judgment should 1) include arguments as to why each and every pleaded exception to the Act does not apply; and 2) have parents and minors sign carefully-drafted liability waivers prior to allowing guests to ride; and 3) have parents put all specific instructions regarding their child’s participation in equine activities in writing.
Case Information: Hilz v. Riedel, No. 02-11-00288-CV, 2012 WL 2135648 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Jun. 14, 2012, no pet h.)
Photo: In celebration of Father’s Day this Sunday, today’s photo is of my dad, Chuck McCormack, and me riding at Bardwell Lake. Have a great Father’s Day everyone!