reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99A - Civil Remedies for Interference With Property › § 99A-1 - Recovery of damages for interference with property rights.

§ 99A-1. Recovery of damages for interference with property rights.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the General Statutes of North Carolina, when personal property is wrongfully taken and carried away from the owner or person in lawful possession of such property without his consent and with the intent to permanently deprive him of the use, possession and enjoyment of said property, a right of action arises for recovery of actual and punitive damages from any person who has or has had, possession of said property knowing the property to be stolen.
An agent having possession, actual or constructive, of property lawfully owned by his principal, shall have a right of action in behalf of his principal for any unlawful interference with that possession by a third person.
In cases of bailments where the possession is in the bailee, a trespass committed during the existence of the bailment shall give a right of action to the bailee for the interference with his special property and a concurrent right of action to the bailor for the interference with his general property.
Any abuse of, or damage done to, the personal property of another or one who is in possession thereof, unlawfully, is a trespass for which damages may be recovered. (1973, c. 809.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99A - Civil Remedies for Interference With Property › § 99A-2 - Recovery of damages for exceeding the scope of authorized access to property.

§ 99A-2. Recovery of damages for exceeding the scope of authorized access to property.
(a) Any person who intentionally gains access to the nonpublic areas of another's premises and engages in an act that exceeds the person's authority to enter those areas is liable to the owner or operator of the premises for any damages sustained. For the purposes of this section, "nonpublic areas" shall mean those areas not accessible to or not intended to be accessed by the general public.
(b) For the purposes of this section, an act that exceeds a person's authority to enter the nonpublic areas of another's premises is any of the following:
(1) An employee who enters the nonpublic areas of an employer's premises for a reason other than a bona fide intent of seeking or holding employment or doing business with the employer and thereafter without authorization captures or removes the employer's data, paper, records, or any other documents and uses the information to breach the person's duty of loyalty to the employer.
(2) An employee who intentionally enters the nonpublic areas of an employer's premises for a reason other than a bona fide intent of seeking or holding employment or doing business with the employer and thereafter without authorization records images or sound occurring within an employer's premises and uses the recording to breach the person's duty of loyalty to the employer.
(3) Knowingly or intentionally placing on the employer's premises an unattended camera or electronic surveillance device and using that device to record images or data.
(4) Conspiring in organized retail theft, as defined in Article 16A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes.
(5) An act that substantially interferes with the ownership or possession of real property.
(c) Any person who intentionally directs, assists, compensates, or induces another person to violate this section shall be jointly liable.
(d) A court may award to a party who prevails in an action brought pursuant to this section one or more of the following remedies:
(1) Equitable relief.
(2) Compensatory damages as otherwise allowed by State or federal law.
(3) Costs and fees, including reasonable attorneys' fees.
(4) Exemplary damages as otherwise allowed by State or federal law in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each day, or portion thereof, that a defendant has acted in violation of subsection (a) of this section.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish the protections provided to employees under Article 21 of Chapter 95 or Article 14 of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes, nor may any party who is covered by these Articles be liable under this section.
(f) This section shall not apply to any governmental agency or law enforcement officer engaged in a lawful investigation of the premises or the owner or operator of the premises.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any other remedy available at common law or provided by the General Statutes. (2015-50, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-1 - Definitions.

§ 99B-1. Definitions.
When used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Claimant" means a person or other entity asserting a claim and, if said claim is asserted on behalf of an estate, an incompetent or a minor, "claimant" includes plaintiff's decedent, guardian, or guardian ad litem.
(2) "Manufacturer" means a person or entity who designs, assembles, fabricates, produces, constructs or otherwise prepares a product or component part of a product prior to its sale to a user or consumer, including a seller owned in whole or significant part by the manufacturer or a seller owning the manufacturer in whole or significant part.
(3) "Product liability action" includes any action brought for or on account of personal injury, death or property damage caused by or resulting from the manufacture, construction, design, formulation, development of standards, preparation, processing, assembly, testing, listing, certifying, warning, instructing, marketing, selling, advertising, packaging, or labeling of any product.
(4) "Seller" includes a retailer, wholesaler, or distributor, and means any individual or entity engaged in the business of selling a product, whether such sale is for resale or for use or consumption. "Seller" also includes a lessor or bailor engaged in the business of leasing or bailment of a product. (1979, c. 654, s. 1; 1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-1.2 - Breach of warranty.

§ 99B-1.2. Breach of warranty.
Nothing in this act shall preclude a product liability action that otherwise exists against a manufacturer or seller for breach of warranty. The defenses provided for in this Chapter shall apply to claims for breach of warranty unless expressly excluded under this Chapter. (1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-2 - Seller's opportunity to inspect; privity requirements for warranty claims.

§ 99B-2. Seller's opportunity to inspect; privity requirements for warranty claims.
(a) No product liability action, except an action for breach of express warranty, shall be commenced or maintained against any seller when the product was acquired and sold by the seller in a sealed container or when the product was acquired and sold by the seller under circumstances in which the seller was afforded no reasonable opportunity to inspect the product in such a manner that would have or should have, in the exercise of reasonable care, revealed the existence of the condition complained of, unless the seller damaged or mishandled the product while in his possession; provided, that the provisions of this section shall not apply if the manufacturer of the product is not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State or if such manufacturer has been judicially declared insolvent.
(b) A claimant who is a buyer, as defined in the Uniform Commercial Code, of the product involved, or who is a member or a guest of a member of the family of the buyer, a guest of the buyer, or an employee of the buyer may bring a product liability action directly against the manufacturer of the product involved for breach of implied warranty; and the lack of privity of contract shall not be grounds for the dismissal of such action. (1979, c. 654, s. 1; 1989, c. 420; 1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-3 - Alteration or modification of product.

§ 99B-3. Alteration or modification of product.
(a) No manufacturer or seller of a product shall be held liable in any product liability action where a proximate cause of the personal injury, death, or damage to property was either an alteration or modification of the product by a party other than the manufacturer or seller, which alteration or modification occurred after the product left the control of such manufacturer or such seller unless:
(1) The alteration or modification was in accordance with the instructions or specifications of such manufacturer or such seller; or
(2) The alteration or modification was made with the express consent of such manufacturer or such seller.
(b) For the purposes of this section, alteration or modification includes changes in the design, formula, function, or use of the product from that originally designed, tested, or intended by the manufacturer. It includes failure to observe routine care and maintenance, but does not include ordinary wear and tear. (1979, c. 654, s. 1; 1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-4 - Knowledge or reasonable care.

§ 99B-4. Knowledge or reasonable care.
No manufacturer or seller shall be held liable in any product liability action if:
(1) The use of the product giving rise to the product liability action was contrary to any express and adequate instructions or warnings delivered with, appearing on, or attached to the product or on its original container or wrapping, if the user knew or with the exercise of reasonable and diligent care should have known of such instructions or warnings; or
(2) The user knew of or discovered a defect or dangerous condition of the product that was inconsistent with the safe use of the product, and then unreasonably and voluntarily exposed himself or herself to the danger, and was injured by or caused injury with that product; or
(3) The claimant failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances in the use of the product, and such failure was a proximate cause of the occurrence that caused the injury or damage complained of. (1979, c. 654, s. 1; 1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-5 - Claims based on inadequate warning or instruction.

§ 99B-5. Claims based on inadequate warning or instruction.
(a) No manufacturer or seller of a product shall be held liable in any product liability action for a claim based upon inadequate warning or instruction unless the claimant proves that the manufacturer or seller acted unreasonably in failing to provide such warning or instruction, that the failure to provide adequate warning or instruction was a proximate cause of the harm for which damages are sought, and also proves one of the following:
(1) At the time the product left the control of the manufacturer or seller, the product, without an adequate warning or instruction, created an unreasonably dangerous condition that the manufacturer or seller knew, or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known, posed a substantial risk of harm to a reasonably foreseeable claimant.
(2) After the product left the control of the manufacturer or seller, the manufacturer or seller became aware of or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known that the product posed a substantial risk of harm to a reasonably foreseeable user or consumer and failed to take reasonable steps to give adequate warning or instruction or to take other reasonable action under the circumstances.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, no manufacturer or seller of a product shall be held liable in any product liability action for failing to warn about an open and obvious risk or a risk that is a matter of common knowledge.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, no manufacturer or seller of a prescription drug shall be liable in a products liability action for failing to provide a warning or instruction directly to a consumer if an adequate warning or instruction has been provided to the physician or other legally authorized person who prescribes or dispenses that prescription drug for the claimant unless the United States Food and Drug Administration requires such direct consumer warning or instruction to accompany the product. (1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-10 - Immunity for donated food.

§ 99B-10. Immunity for donated food.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 12 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes, or any other provision of law, any person, including but not limited to a seller, farmer, processor, distributor, wholesaler, or retailer of food, who donates an item of food for use or distribution by a nonprofit organization or nonprofit corporation shall not be liable for civil damages or criminal penalties resulting from the nature, age, condition, or packaging of the donated food, unless an injury is caused by the gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of the donor.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any nonprofit organization or nonprofit corporation that uses or distributes food that has been donated to it for such use or distribution shall not be liable for civil damages or criminal penalties resulting from the nature, age, condition, or packaging of the donated food, unless an injury is caused by the gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of the organization or corporation. (1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1188, s. 1; 1989, c. 365; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 935, s. 2; 1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-11 - Claims based on defective design of firearms.

§ 99B-11. Claims based on defective design of firearms.
(a) In a products liability action involving firearms or ammunition, whether a firearm or ammunition shell is defective in design shall not be based on a comparison or weighing of the benefits of the product against the risk of injury, damage, or death posed by its potential to cause that injury, damage, or death when discharged.
(b) In a products liability action brought against a firearm or ammunition manufacturer, importer, distributor, or retailer that alleges a design defect, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove, in addition to any other elements required to be proved:
(1) That the actual design of the firearm or ammunition was defective, causing it not to function in a manner reasonably expected by an ordinary consumer of firearms or ammunition; and
(2) That any defective design was the proximate cause of the injury, damage, or death. (1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1059, s. 1; 1995, c. 522, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99B - Products Liability › § 99B-12 - Burden of proof in certain cases.

§ 99B-12. Burden of proof in certain cases.
(a) A commodity producer shall be entitled to a rebuttable presumption that the commodity producer was not negligent when death or injury is proximately caused by the consumption of the producer's raw agricultural commodity if the producer (i) is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices Audit Verification Program or other third-party certification program designated by the Commissioner for purposes of this section; (ii) has a written food safety policy that complies with the certification program's standard and can provide evidence that the producer trains employees on the policy on an annual basis; (iii) has had no formal administrative findings or sanctions or legal judgments entered against the producer during the previous three years based on a claim that the commodity producer's negligence was the proximate cause of a plaintiff's death or injury; and (iv) has had no settlement agreements concluding litigation where the settlement exceeded twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or in which the producer admitted liability, during the previous three years based on a claim that the commodity producer's negligence was the proximate cause of a plaintiff's death or injury. This presumption may be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence that the commodity producer's negligence was the proximate cause of the death or injury.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) Commodity producer means a producer of raw agricultural commodities.
(2) Raw agricultural commodity means any food in its raw or natural state, including all fruits that are washed, colored, or otherwise treated in their unpeeled natural form prior to marketing, and which is covered by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices Audit Verification Program. (2013-265, s. 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99C - Actions Relating to Winter Sports Safety and Accidents › § 99C-1 - Definitions.

§ 99C-1. Definitions.
When used in this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) Competitor. – A skier actually engaged in competition or in practice therefor with the permission of the ski area operator on any slope or trail or portion thereof designated by the ski area operator for the purpose of competition.
(1a) Freestyle terrain. – Constructed and natural features in ski areas intended for winter sports including, but not limited to, terrain parks and terrain park features such as jumps, rails, fun boxes, half-pipes, quarter-pipes, and freestyle-bump terrain.
(2) Passenger. – Any person who is being transported or is awaiting transportation, or being conveyed on a passenger tramway or is moving from the disembarkation point of a passenger tramway or is in the act of embarking upon or disembarking from a passenger tramway.
(3) Passenger tramway. – Any device used to transport passengers uphill on skis or other winter sports devices, or in cars on tracks, or suspended in the air, by the use of steel cables, chains, belts or ropes. Such definition shall include such devices as a chair lift, J Bar, or platter pull, rope tow, and wire tow.
(4) Ski area. – All winter sports slopes, alpine and Nordic ski trails, freestyle terrain and passenger tramways, that are administered or operated as a ski area enterprise within this State.
(5) Ski area operator. – A person, corporation, or organization that is responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of the ski area.
(6) Skier. – Any person who is wearing skis or other winter sports devices or any person who for the purpose of skiing or other winter sports is on a designated and clearly marked winter sports slope, alpine or Nordic ski trail or freestyle terrain that is located at a ski area, or any person who is a passenger or spectator at a ski area.
(7) Winter sports. – Any use of skis, snowboards, snowshoes, or any other device for skiing, sliding, jumping, or traveling on snow or ice. (1981, c. 939, s. 1; 2009-353, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99C - Actions Relating to Winter Sports Safety and Accidents › § 99C-3 - Violation constitutes negligence.

§ 99C-3. Violation constitutes negligence.
A violation of any responsibility placed on the skier, passenger or ski area operator as set forth in G.S. 99C-2, to the extent such violation proximately causes injury to any person or damage to any property, shall constitute negligence on the part of the person violating the provisions of that section. (1981, c. 939, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99C - Actions Relating to Winter Sports Safety and Accidents › § 99C-4 - Competition.

§ 99C-4. Competition.
The ski area operator shall, prior to the beginning of a competition, allow each competitor a reasonable visual inspection of the course or area where the competition is to be held. The competitor shall be held to assume risk of all course conditions including, but not limited to, weather and snow conditions, course construction or layout, and obstacles which a visual inspection should have revealed. No liability shall attach to a ski area operator for injury or death of any competitor proximately caused by such assumed risk. (1981, c. 939, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99D - Civil Rights › § 99D-1 - Interference with Civil Rights.

§ 99D-1. Interference with Civil Rights.
(a) It is a violation of this Chapter if:
(1) Two or more persons, motivated by race, religion, ethnicity, or gender, but whether or not acting under color of law, conspire to interfere with the exercise or enjoyment by any other person or persons of a right secured by the Constitutions of the United States or North Carolina, or of a right secured by a law of the United States or North Carolina that enforces, interprets, or impacts on a constitutional right; and
(2) One or more persons engaged in such a conspiracy use force, repeated harassment, violence, physical harm to persons or property, or direct or indirect threats of physical harm to persons or property to commit an act in furtherance of the object of the conspiracy; and
(3) The commission of an act described in subdivision (2) interferes, or is an attempt to interfere, with the exercise or enjoyment of a right, described in subdivision (1), of another person.
(b) Any person whose exercise or enjoyment of a right described in subdivision (a)(1) has been interfered with, or against whom an attempt has been made to interfere with the exercise or enjoyment of such a right, by a violation of this Chapter may bring a civil action. The court may restrain and enjoin such future acts, and may award compensatory and punitive damages to the plaintiff. The court may award court costs and attorneys' fees to the prevailing party. However, a prevailing defendant may be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees only upon a showing that the case is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
(b1) The North Carolina Human Relations Commission may bring a civil action on behalf, and with the consent, of any person subjected to a violation of this Chapter. In any such action, the court may restrain and enjoin such future acts, and may award compensatory damages and punitive damages to the person on whose behalf the action was brought. Court costs may be awarded to the Commission or the defendant, whichever prevails. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 114-2, the Commission shall be represented by the Commission's staff attorney.
(c) No civil action may be brought or maintained, and no liability may be imposed, under this Chapter against a governmental unit, a government official with respect to actions taken within the scope of his official governmental duties, or an employer or his agent with respect to actions taken concerning his employees within the scope of the employment relationship. (1987, c. 718; 1991, c. 433, ss. 1, 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 1 - Equine and Farm Animal Activity Liability. › § 99E-1 - Definitions.

§ 99E-1. Definitions.
As used in this Part, the term:
(1) "Engage in an equine activity" means participate in an equine activity, assist a participant in an equine activity, or assist an equine activity sponsor or equine professional. The term "engage in an equine activity" does not include being a spectator at an equine activity, except in cases in which the spectator places himself in an unauthorized area and in immediate proximity to the equine activity.
(2) "Equine" means a horse, pony, mule, donkey, or hinny.
(3) "Equine activity" means any activity involving an equine. Actions to preserve, maintain, or regulate the use of land for equestrian recreation shall not be considered an equine activity.
(4) "Equine activity sponsor" means an individual, group, club, partnership, or corporation, whether the sponsor is operating for profit or nonprofit, which sponsors, organizes, or provides the facilities for an equine activity. The term includes operators and promoters of equine facilities. A landowner who allows equine recreation on the landowner's property shall not be considered an equine activity sponsor.
(5) "Equine professional" means a person engaged for compensation in any one or more of the following:
a. Instructing a participant.
b. Renting an equine to a participant for the purpose of riding, driving, or being a passenger upon the equine.
c. Renting equipment or tack to a participant.
d. Examining or administering medical treatment to an equine.
e. Hooftrimming or placing or replacing horseshoes on an equine.
(5a) "Equine recreation" means use of a landowner's property for an equine activity (i) where the landowner is neither the equine activity sponsor nor the equine professional and (ii) when the landowner permits use of the property without charge. For purposes of this subdivision, "charge" has the meaning set forth in G.S. 38A-2 and G.S. 38A-3.
(6) "Inherent risks of equine activities" means those dangers or conditions that are an integral part of engaging in an equine activity, including any of the following:
a. The possibility of an equine behaving in ways that may result in injury, harm, or death to persons on or around them.
b. The unpredictability of an equine's reaction to such things as sounds, sudden movement, unfamiliar objects, persons, or other animals.
Inherent risks of equine activities does not include a collision or accident involving a motor vehicle.
(7) "Participant" means any person, whether amateur or professional, who engages in an equine activity, whether or not a fee is paid to participate in the equine activity. (1997-376, s. 1; 2013-265, s. 3.2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 1 - Equine and Farm Animal Activity Liability. › § 99E-2 - Liability.

§ 99E-2. Liability.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person engaged in an equine activity, including a corporation or partnership, shall not be liable for an injury to or the death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities and, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no participant or participant's representative shall maintain an action against or recover from an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person engaged in an equine activity for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant resulting exclusively from any of the inherent risks of equine activities. In any action for damages against an equine activity sponsor or an equine professional for an equine activity, the equine activity sponsor or equine professional must plead the affirmative defense of assumption of the risk of the equine activity by the participant.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person engaged in an equine activity if the equine activity sponsor, equine professional, or person engaged in an equine activity does any one or more of the following:
(1) Provides the equipment or tack, and knew or should have known that the equipment or tack was faulty, and such faulty equipment or tack proximately caused the injury, damage, or death.
(2) Provides the equine and failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine activity or to safely manage the particular equine.
(3) Commits an act or omission that constitutes willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant, and that act or omission proximately caused the injury, damage, or death.
(4) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-265, s. 3.2, effective August 1, 2013, and applicable to claims arising on or after that date.
(c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional, or any other person engaged in an equine activity under liability provisions as set forth in the products liability laws.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with or render ineffectual a liability release, indemnification, assumption, or acknowledgment of risk agreement between a participant and an equine activity sponsor or an equine professional. (1997-376, s. 1; 2013-265, s. 3.2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 1 - Equine and Farm Animal Activity Liability. › § 99E-3 - Warning required.

§ 99E-3. Warning required.
(a) Every equine professional and every equine activity sponsor shall post and maintain signs which contain the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this section. The signs required by this section shall be placed in a clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals, or arenas where the equine professional or the equine activity sponsor conducts equine activities. The warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this section shall be designed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and shall consist of a sign in black letters, with each letter to be a minimum of three quarters of one inch in height. Every written contract entered into by an equine professional or by an equine activity sponsor for the providing of professional services, instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or an equine to a participant, whether or not the contract involves equine activities on or off the location or site of the equine professional's or the equine activity sponsor's business, shall contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) The signs and contracts described in subsection (a) of this section shall contain the following warning notice:
"WARNING
Under North Carolina law, an equine activity sponsor or equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in equine activities resulting exclusively from the inherent risks of equine activities. Chapter 99E of the North Carolina General Statutes."
(c) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warning signs and notices provided in this Part shall prevent an equine activity sponsor or equine professional from invoking the privileges of immunity provided by this Part. (1997-376, s. 1; 2013-265, s. 3.2; 2023-63, s. 2.1(a).)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 1 - Equine and Farm Animal Activity Liability. › § 99E-4 - Exception.

§ 99E-4. Exception.
The liability of a landowner for injury or death associated with participation in equine recreation shall be subject to the limitation set forth in G.S. 38A-4 and shall not be subject to this Part. (2013-265, s. 3.3.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 1 - Equine and Farm Animal Activity Liability. › § 99E-7 - Liability.

§ 99E-7. Liability.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a farm animal activity sponsor, a farm animal professional, or any other person engaged in a farm animal activity, including a corporation or partnership, shall not be liable for an injury to or the death of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of farm animal activities, and, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no participant or participant's representative shall maintain an action against or recover from a farm animal sponsor, a farm animal professional, or any other person engaged in a farm animal activity for injury, loss, damage, or death of the participant resulting exclusively from any of the inherent risks of farm animal activities. In any action for damages against a farm animal activity sponsor or a farm animal professional for a farm animal activity, the farm animal activity sponsor or farm animal professional must plead the affirmative defense of assumption of the risk of the farm animal activity by the participant.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of a farm animal activity sponsor, a farm animal professional, or any other person engaged in a farm animal activity if the farm animal activity sponsor, professional, or person engaged in a farm animal activity does any one or more of the following:
(1) Provides the equipment or tack and knew or should have known that the equipment or tack was faulty, and such faulty equipment or tack proximately caused the injury, damage, or death.
(2) Provides the farm animal and failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the farm animal activity or to safely manage the particular farm animal.
(3) Commits an act or omission that constitutes willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant, and that act or omission proximately caused the injury, damage, or death.
(c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of a farm animal activity sponsor, a farm animal professional, or any other person engaged in a farm animal activity under liability provisions as set forth in the products liability laws. (2013-265, s. 3.3.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 1 - Equine and Farm Animal Activity Liability. › § 99E-8 - Warning required.

§ 99E-8. Warning required.
(a) Every farm animal activity sponsor and every farm animal professional shall post and maintain signs which contain the warning notices specified in subsection (b) or (c) of this section. The signs required by this section shall be placed in a clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals, arenas, or other farm animal facilities where the farm animal professional or the farm animal activity sponsor conducts animal activities. The warning notices specified in subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be designed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and shall consist of a sign in black letters, with each letter to be a minimum of three quarters of one inch in height. Every written contract entered into by a farm animal professional or by a farm animal activity sponsor for the providing of professional services, instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or a farm animal to a participant, whether or not the contract involves farm animal activities on or off the location or site of the farm animal professional's or farm animal activity sponsor's business, shall contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(b) The signs and contracts described in subsection (a) of this section shall contain the following warning notice:
"WARNING
Under North Carolina law, a farm animal activity sponsor or farm animal professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in farm animal activities resulting exclusively from the inherent risks of farm animal activities. Chapter 99E of the North Carolina General Statutes."
(c) If a farm animal activity sponsor or farm animal professional sponsors or engages in farm animal activities only involving equines, the signs and contracts described in subsection (a) of this section may contain the following warning notice:
"WARNING
Under North Carolina law, an equine activity sponsor or equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in equine activities resulting exclusively from the inherent risks of equine activities. Chapter 99E of the North Carolina General Statutes."
(d) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warning signs and notices provided in this Part shall prevent a farm animal activity sponsor or farm animal professional from invoking the privileges of immunity provided by this Part. (2013-265, s. 3.3; 2023-63, s. 2.1(b).)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 2 - Roller Skating Rink Safety and Liability. › § 99E-10 - Definitions.

§ 99E-10. Definitions.
As used in this Article:
(1) "Operator" means a person or entity who owns, manages, controls, or directs, or who has operational responsibility for a roller skating rink.
(2) "Roller skater" means an individual wearing roller skates while in a roller skating rink for the purpose of recreational or competitive roller skating. "Roller skater" includes any individual in the roller skating rink who is an invitee, whether or not this individual pays consideration.
(3) "Roller skating rink" means a building, facility, or premises that provide an area specifically designed to be used by the public for recreational or competitive roller skating.
(4) "Spectator" means an individual who is present in a roller skating rink only for the purpose of observing recreational or competitive roller skating. (1997-376, s. 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 2 - Roller Skating Rink Safety and Liability. › § 99E-11 - Duties of an operator.

§ 99E-11. Duties of an operator.
The operator, to the extent practicable, shall:
(1) Post the duties of roller skaters and spectators and the duties, obligations, and liabilities of the operator as prescribed in this Article in conspicuous places in at least three locations in the roller skating rink.
(2) Maintain the stability and legibility of all signs, symbols, and posted notices required under subdivision (1) of this section.
(3) Comply with all roller skating rink safety standards published by the Roller Skating Rink Operators Association, including, but not limited to, the proper maintenance of roller skating equipment and roller skating surfaces.
(4) When the rink is open for sessions, have at least one floor guard on duty for approximately every 200 skaters.
(5) Maintain the skating surface in reasonably safe condition and clean and inspect the skating surface before each session.
(6) Maintain in good condition the railings, kickboards, and walls surrounding the skating surface.
(7) In rinks with step-up or step-down skating surfaces, ensure that the covering on the riser is securely fastened.
(8) Install fire extinguishers and inspect fire extinguishers at recommended intervals.
(9) Provide reasonable security in parking areas during operational hours.
(10) Inspect emergency lighting units periodically to ensure the lights are in proper order.
(11) Keep exit lights and lights in service areas on when skating surface lights are turned off during special numbers.
(12) Check rental skates on a regular basis to ensure the skates are in good mechanical condition.
(13) Prohibit the sale or use of alcoholic beverages on the premises.
(14) Comply with all applicable State and local safety codes.
(15) Not engage willfully or negligently in any conduct that may proximately cause injury, damage, or death to a roller skater or spectator. (1997-376, s. 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 2 - Roller Skating Rink Safety and Liability. › § 99E-12 - Duties of a roller skater.

§ 99E-12. Duties of a roller skater.
Each roller skater shall, to the extent commensurate with the person's age:
(1) Maintain reasonable control of his or her speed and course at all times.
(2) Heed all posted signs and warnings.
(3) Maintain a proper lookout to avoid other roller skaters and objects.
(4) Accept the responsibility for knowing the range of his or her ability to negotiate the intended direction of travel while on roller skates and to skate within the limits of that ability.
(5) Refrain from acting in a manner that may cause or contribute to the injury of himself, herself, or any other person. (1997-376, s. 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 2 - Roller Skating Rink Safety and Liability. › § 99E-13 - Assumption of risk.

§ 99E-13. Assumption of risk.
Roller skaters and spectators are deemed to have knowledge of and to assume the inherent risks of roller skating, insofar as those risks are obvious and necessary. The obvious and necessary inherent risks include, but are not limited to, injury, damage, or death that:
(1) Results from incidental contact with other roller skaters or spectators,
(2) Results from falls caused by loss of balance, or
(3) Involves objects or artificial structures properly within the intended path of travel of the roller skater,
and that is not otherwise attributable to a rink operator's breach of the operator's duties as set forth in G.S. 99E-11. (1997-376, s. 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 2 - Roller Skating Rink Safety and Liability. › § 99E-14 - Defense to suit.

§ 99E-14. Defense to suit.
Assumption of risk pursuant to G.S. 99E-13 is a complete defense to a suit against an operator by a roller skater or a spectator for injuries resulting from any obvious and necessary inherent risks, unless the operator has violated the operator's duties under G.S. 99E-11. (1997-376, s. 2.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 3 - Hazardous Recreation Parks Safety and Liability. › § 99E-21 - Purpose.

§ 99E-21. Purpose.
The purpose of this Article is to encourage governmental owners or lessees of property to make land available to a governmental entity for skateboarding, inline skating, or freestyle bicycling. It is recognized that governmental owners or lessees of property have failed to make property available for such activities because of the exposure to liability from lawsuits and the prohibitive cost of insurance, if insurance can be obtained for such activities. It is also recognized that risks and dangers are inherent in these activities, which risks and dangers should be assumed by those participating in the activities. (2003-334, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 3 - Hazardous Recreation Parks Safety and Liability. › § 99E-22 - Definitions.

§ 99E-22. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1) Governmental entity. –
a. The State, any county or municipality, or any department, agency, or other instrumentality thereof.
b. Any school board, special district, authority, or other entity exercising governmental authority.
(2) Hazardous recreational activity. – Skateboarding, inline skating, or freestyle bicycling.
(3) Inherent risk. – Those dangers or conditions that are characteristic of, intrinsic to, or an integral part of skateboarding, inline skating, and freestyle bicycling. (2003-334, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 3 - Hazardous Recreation Parks Safety and Liability. › § 99E-23 - Duties of operators of skateboard parks.

§ 99E-23. Duties of operators of skateboard parks.
(a) No operator of a skateboard park shall permit any person to ride a skateboard therein, unless that person is wearing a helmet, elbow pads, and kneepads.
(b) For any facility owned or operated by a governmental entity that is designed and maintained for the purpose of recreational skateboard use, and that is not supervised on a regular basis, the requirements under subsection (a) of this section are satisfied when all of the following occur:
(1) The governmental entity adopted an ordinance requiring any person riding a skateboard at the facility to wear a helmet, elbow pads, and kneepads.
(2) Signs are posted at the facility affording reasonable notice that any person riding a skateboard in the facility must wear a helmet, elbow pads, and kneepads and that any person failing to do so will be subject to citation under the ordinance under subdivision (1) of this subsection. (2003-334, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 3 - Hazardous Recreation Parks Safety and Liability. › § 99E-24 - Duties of persons engaged in hazardous recreational activities.

§ 99E-24. Duties of persons engaged in hazardous recreational activities.
(a) Any person who participates in or assists in hazardous recreational activities assumes the known and unknown inherent risks in these activities, irrespective of age, and is legally responsible for all damages, injury, or death to himself or herself or other persons or property that result from these activities. Any person who observes hazardous recreational activities assumes the known and unknown inherent risks in these activities, irrespective of age, and is legally responsible for all damages, injury, or death to himself or herself that result from these activities. No public entity that sponsors, allows, or permits skateboarding, inline skating, or freestyle bicycling on its property is required to eliminate, alter, or control the inherent risks in these activities.
(b) While engaged in hazardous recreational activities, irrespective of where such activities occur, a participant is responsible for doing all of the following:
(1) Acting within the limits of his or her ability and the purpose and design of the equipment used.
(2) Maintaining control of his or her person and the equipment used.
(3) Refraining from acting in any manner that may cause or contribute to death or injury of himself or herself or other persons.
(c) Failure to comply with the requirement of subsection (b) of this section constitutes negligence. (2003-334, s. 1.)
2023 North Carolina General Statutes › Chapter 99E - Special Liability Provisions › Article 3 - Hazardous Recreation Parks Safety and Liability. › § 99E-25 - Liability of governmental entities.

§ 99E-25. Liability of governmental entities.
(a) This section does not grant authority or permission for a person to engage in hazardous recreational activities on property owned or controlled by a governmental entity unless such governmental entity has specifically designated such area for these activities.
(b) No governmental entity or public employee who has complied with G.S. 99E-23 shall be liable to any person who voluntarily participates in hazardous recreation activities for any damage or injury to property or persons that arises out of a person's participation in the activity and that takes place in an area designated for the activity.
(c) This section does not limit liability that would otherwise exist for any of the following:
(1) The failure of the governmental entity or public employee to guard against or warn of a dangerous condition of which a participant does not have and cannot reasonably be expected to have had notice.
(2) An act of gross negligence by the governmental entity or public employee that is the proximate cause of the injury.
(d) Nothing in this section creates a duty of care or basis of liability for death, personal injury, or damage to personal property. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to be a waiver of sovereign immunity under any circumstances.
(e) Nothing in this section limits the liability of an independent concessionaire or any person or organization other than a governmental entity or public employee, whether or not the person or organization has a contractual relationship with a governmental entity to use the public property, for injuries or damages suffered in any case as a result of the operation of equipment for hazardous recreational activities on public property by the concessionaire, person, or organization.
(f) The fact that a governmental entity carries insurance that covers any activity subject to this Article does not constitute a waiver of the liability limits under this section, regardless of the existence or limits of the coverage. (2003-334, s. 1.)