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WARNING SIGNS FOR RIP CURRENTS Legal Issues

NEGLIGENCE. Four elements: Duty of care; Breach of that duty; Injury that is Caused by the breach.. THE QUESTION. What legal duties do oceanfront landowners

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WARNING SIGNS FOR RIP CURRENTS Legal Issues

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    1. WARNING SIGNS FOR RIP CURRENTS * Legal Issues * Josh Clemons Research Counsel MS-AL Sea Grant Legal Program June 24, 2004

    3. THE QUESTION What legal duties do oceanfront landowners � hotels, for instance � have to their guests with respect to rip currents?

    4. The Answer Depends on Property Ownership

    6. Because of THE GENERAL RULE

    7. The High Tide Line is the boundary between public and private property

    8. Rip currents occur below the high tide line.

    9. The owner of adjacent private beachfront property generally has no legal duty to warn people on his/her property about rip currents on the public beach. There are no cases directly on point in Alabama or Mississippi. However, courts have affirmed this rule in other states.

    14. The court held:

    15. A later California case, similar to Swann but with a hotel as defendant, held:

    16. THERE IS SOME LAW TO THE CONTRARY!!!

    17. An unusual case in California � Pacheco v. U.S.* 11-year-old girl caught in rip current; mother and grandmother jump in to rescue; all drown. U.S. Forest Service beach controlled by private permittee, who knew of rip current danger but did not warn. Court: possible duty to warn!!!

    18. Why did the Pacheco case turn out differently? Creation and Control Creation of danger: Supplying perforated bucket = encouragement to use beach and implication of safety Control of beach: Path, signs, rules = �open public display� of control

    21. SUMMARY FOR PRIVATE LANDOWNERS

    22. Next Topic: GOVERNMENT LIABILITY

    23. The government owns the property seaward of the High Tide Line, which is where rip currents occur.

    24. GENERAL RULE: SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY

    25. TORT CLAIMS ACTS

    26. Federal Tort Claims Act

    27. Mississippi Tort Claims Act

    28. Alabama Tort Claims Act

    29. Exception (U.S. and Mississippi):

    30. Discretionary Function

    31. Discretionary Function

    32. Discretionary Function

    33. Discretionary Function

    34. A Mississippi Wrinkle

    35. SUMMARY FOR GOVERNMENT LANDOWNERS

    36. QUESTIONS?

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