Bobby owns ten acres of land in rural Ohio, where he keeps a small herd of wild
Question:
Bobby owns ten acres of land in rural Ohio, where he keeps a small herd of wild boar. Wild boar regularly attack humans. The attacks, which are usually unprovoked, can cause injury from bites and trampling, and in rare instances can be deadly. Bobby has been attacked twice by his wild boar, but he still has a soft spot for them. Bobby keeps his wild boar in a large pen. One afternoon, Bobby peered out from his cabin and saw that a group of campers had set up an overnight camp on the edge of his property. The campers were trespassing. Bobby decided to have some fun, so he let his wild boar out of their pen. Around midnight, two campers were attacked by wild boar. One of them, Joanna, suffered a broken leg. Joanna sued Bobby.
Ohio Law, Section 2305.402: Duties Owed to Trespassers, provides that: (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Possessor of real property" means the owner, lessee, renter, or other occupant of real property.
(2) "Tort action" means a civil action for damages for injury, death, or loss to person....
(3) "Trespasser" means an individual who, without express or implied authorization, invitation, or inducement, enters real property purely for the individual's own purposes and convenience....
(C) ...the possessor of real property is liable in damages to a trespasser on the property or to any other person in a tort action for injury, death, or loss to the person of the trespasser that allegedly is caused by the possessor of the real property if...the possessor knows, or from facts within the possessor's knowledge should know or believe, that the trespasser is in a position of peril on the property, and the possessor of the property fails to exercise ordinary care to avoid causing that injury, death, or loss.
Questions:
- Please explain how this statute would apply in Joanna's lawsuit.
- Briefly explain the underlying rationale of this statute. In other words, why do you think that the Ohio Legislature adopted it?
Data Analysis and Decision Making
ISBN: 978-0538476126
4th edition
Authors: Christian Albright, Wayne Winston, Christopher Zappe