Opinion ID: 2823219
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Recreational Use Statute’s History

Text: The RUS has had a lengthy and complex history with this Court. See supra, note 3. The RUS began as a statute promulgated in 1978 by the General Assembly for the “salutary purpose” of “encourag[ing] private landowners to make their land free and open to the public for recreational purposes.” Berman I, 991 A.2d at 1043. This encouragement came in the form of a reduced duty of care; users of the land would be considered to be trespassers and the landowner need only “refrain from willful or wanton conduct.” Id. at 1044. In 1996, the RUS was amended and “it is clear from the unambiguous language of the 1996 amendment that the legislature intended to include the state and municipalities among owners entitled to immunity under the statute.” Pereira v. Fitzgerald, 21 A.3d 369, 373 (R.I. 2011) (quoting Hanley v. State, 837 A.2d 707, 712 (R.I. 2003)); Berman I, 991 A.2d at 1044 (noting that § 32-6-2(3) was amended by P.L. 1996, ch. 234, § 1). We have on a number of occasions cast a disapproving eye on this expansion of immunity, saying, “the state and its municipalities are presumptively better able to bear the burden of damages” than an injured plaintiff, and that “the statutory scheme does nothing to motivate governmental landowners to make their properties safe.” Smiler v. Napolitano, 911 A.2d 1035, 1042 (R.I. 2006); see also Lacey v. Reitsma, 899 A.2d 455, 458 (R.I. 2006). Nonetheless, we have also been consistent in saying that this Court is not a -6- legislative body; we are bound to apply the statute in light of both its language and our jurisprudence. It is true that in Berman I, 991 A.2d at 1051, a duty was imposed on a municipality for injuries suffered by a plaintiff on land that was recreational in nature. However, in that case, the Court was constrained to address the significance of repeated catastrophic injuries of which the defendant municipality was clearly aware. Id.