Opinion ID: 741450
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: California's Recreational Use Immunity Statute

Text: 6 Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, [t]he United States shall be liable ... in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances, 28 U.S.C. § 2674, in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred, 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b). See Ravell v. United States, 22 F.3d 960, 961 (9th Cir.1994). Because Appellant's injury occurred at the Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California, the magistrate judge correctly looked to California law to determine whether a private property owner would be liable for an injury occurring in like circumstances. Simpson v. United States, 652 F.2d 831, 833 (9th Cir.1981) (citing Phillips v. United States, 590 F.2d 297 (9th Cir.1979)). California's recreational use immunity statute, Cal.Civ. Code § 846, grants limited liability to private landowners for injuries sustained by another from recreational use of the land[,] ... provid[ing] an exception from the general rule that a private landowner owes a duty of reasonable care to any person coming upon the land. Ornelas v. Randolph, 4 Cal. 4th 1095, 1099, 17 Cal.Rptr.2d 594, 596, 847 P.2d 560, 562 (1993) (footnote & citations omitted). 7