Supreme Court of California

In plaintiff's suit against the United States government and its volunteer worker for injuries he sustained when he was struck head-on by an automobile driven by a part time volunteer working for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, while riding a bicycle in a National Forest in Southern California, the court rules that Civil Code section 846's liability shield does not extend to acts of vehicular negligence by a landowner or by the landowner's employee while acting within the course of the employment, as the statutory phrase "keep the premises safe" is an apt description of the property-based duties underlying premises liability, a liability category that does not include vehicular negligence.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/26/2010
• Published 07/26/2010

Judges

• KENNARD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• David G. Jones, Thomas P. O‟Brien