Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 12 Sec. 5872

  • Agritourism activity: means an interactive or passive activity that is carried out for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes on a farm and includes farming, food production, historical, cultural, pick-your-own, and nature-based activities. See
  • Agritourism host: means a person who provides the facilities and equipment necessary to participate in an agritourism activity. See
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Participant: means any individual who is invited to observe or participate in an agritourism activity, regardless of whether the individual paid to observe or participate in the agritourism activity. See

§ 5872. Limitation on duty to protect

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an agritourism host shall not have a legal duty to protect a participant from the inherent risks of an agritourism activity and shall not be liable for injury to or death of a participant or damage to the property of a participant resulting from the inherent risks of an agritourism activity, provided that the agritourism host posts the warning required under section 5873 of this title.

(b) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall limit the liability of an agritourism host who:

(1) commits a negligent act or omission concerning the safety of a participant that proximately causes injury or death to the participant;

(2) has actual knowledge of:

(A) a dangerous condition on the land, facilities, or equipment used in the activity, or

(B) the dangerous propensity of an animal used in the activity, which proximately causes injury or death to the participant, and does not make that danger known to the participant;

(3) intentionally injures a participant or intentionally damages a participant’s property;

(4) commits any other act, error, or omission that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct or criminal conduct that proximately causes injury or death to the participant; or

(5) fails to post the warning required under section 5873 of this title.

(c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of an agritourism host under product liability law.

(d) Any limitation on liability afforded by this section to an agritourism host is in addition to any other limitations on liability otherwise provided by law. (Added 2021, No. 31, § 1.)