My back and side yard are fenced in. The side fence runs along the side of my house, where there is a gate that is visible from the street. There is a second gate parallel to it at the back of my yard that lets out into the field surrounding the local middle school. My kids used that back gate to get to school quickly. Some kid I don't know walked across my whole front yard to get to the side yard gate, opened that gate without permission, and proceeded to try to cut across my backyard to get to the school, (this makes for an effective shortcut, as it cuts out an entire street and evades a crossing guard). He tripped over the water hose and got himself a bloody nose and hurt wrist. He came pounding on my back door. I called the school, the school called his parents, his mom asked me to call my homeowners insurance and then took him to the urgent care. They gave me their number and left before I could stop being flustered enough to object. Again, I don't even know this kid and have never given him or anyone else permission to enter my yard. My kids didn't give him permission, either, they are in college or in primary school, and the kid who crossed my yard is 12 or 13. Basically, my kids are much too old or young to know him. I'm concerned that if I contact my homeowner's insurance they'll raise my rates regardless, (I've read something like that here). And while I don't ultimately have a problem calling them, I'd like some reassurance that my fenced in and gated backyard isn't somehow an attractive nuisance since it leads to a destination one can expect a child to want to get to.
I'm moving to Texas, and bought a new house with a pool. While shopping for home insurance an insurance agent sent my partner this in an email:
"Lastly, we talked about the Personal Liability Umbrella, due to your pool and it being considered a public attraction in Texas, thus even if someone breaks in, your still liable for whatever happens, crap I know, but due to that I STRONGLY encourage y’all getting a $1,000,000 Liability Umbrella."
Obviously the agent is trying to make a sale here. However I'm definitely not a legal expert, I'm new to the state, and have never owned a pool. There's a tall fence in terrific condition entirely around the pool and no one can get in without climbing over. I can understand being held liable if we didn't maintain the fence or left the gate open, but the idea we would be liable for a trespasser being hurt after climbing over our fence or breaking down the gate seems crazy to me.
I don't want an umbrella policy if I don't need it - I'm worried it would actually attract potential lawsuits, if someone DID get hurt and then somehow found out I had it.
Is there any truth behind this agent's claim? Or anything else I should know about attractive nuisances in Texas and protecting myself?
As a fan of college football, I was enthralled last night by the breaking story of Jeff Banks's (University of Texas special teams coach) girlfriend's monkey biting a child at her house on Halloween.
The story behind their relationship, and the fact that the monkey is "an emotional support monkey" who helps in Banks's girlfriend's stripping enterprises is pretty wild, but I'm more interested in the civil liabilities of the bite that occurred. If the girlfriend is to be believed (and strippers with monkeys are notoriously reliable), the child was participating in a haunted house, which the monkey was not a part of, and strayed from the "path" to pet the monkey. In the r/CFB subreddit, the phrase "attractive nuisance" was thrown around a bit (who wouldn't want to go out of their way to greet a monkey), but I'm curious if this rises to the level of an attractive nuisance.
I remember learning about this in high school, and just being absolutely floored by the concept.
In a nutshell, attractive nuisance comes down to this:
If you have something, ANYTHING on your property that looks like it could POSSIBLY attract a child (pool, pile of lumber, old car, trampoline, colorful climbing wall), you can be sued and face consequences if SOMONE ELSE’s child TRESPASSES to get to it and gets hurt on/in it.
So YOU, have to either take down the “attraction” or spend thousands of dollars on a fence instead of mommy drinking wine across the street watching her child and buying a deadbolt. Yes, you actually have to do these things because the one parent in the neighborhood may have “that one child”, even more so if they are special needs.
This is fucking insanity to me.
So we paint rocks for fun in my house and have recently have been leaving them outside for people to take. My kids really enjoy seeing people pick them up and take them home. They are decorated with designs, pictures, and that sort of thing but a very liability minded family member said that if someone picks up these rocks and does something with them like throws it at the neighbor's car or a little kid eats the paint off them or something I could be liable and they may fall into the attractive nuisance category. At first I thought that would be pretty insane because I have regular non-painted river rocks as a border but I also know people will sue others over anything. It would be a bummer to stop putting them out since people seem to enjoy taking them but I also don't want to get sued over something dumb. I do have umbrella insurance and I know the paint is non-toxic because I checked that before letting my own kids use the paint. Before this conversation I was thinking about making an Instagram account for them but now I'm hesitant and think maybe we should just stick to giving them to friends. The rocks are relatively small and fit in the palm of your hand but I suppose could so some damage if you threw one. But that's bananas to worry about right? Edited to say in Pennsylvania
In an episode of the Simpsons Bart wanders into a foreclosure auction and ends up buying an abandoned factory for $1 (without his parent's knowledge). Suppose there was some kind of attractive nuisance on the property and another child got hurt trespassing while Bart wasn't there. Could Bart (and by extention his parents) be held liable for the injury? As the owner Bart has to be responsible, but at the same time he is a child. It seems absurd to hold him responsible for knowing about an obligation to keep his property free of attractive nuisances. Even more absurd to hold his parents liable for a property they didn't even know existed
I'm looking to buy a basketball hoop for my new house, and ideally I'd like to leave it in the alley behind my house. It's a wide alley, with space near my garage where I can store it, and it would let me ball with my friends in the alley whenever the weather is nice. Before I do, I want to make sure I can't get sued if some of the neighbor kids use it and get hurt.
If I leave the basketball hoop in the alley, could I be liable if a child gets hurt using it? And if I bring it into my backyard for storage (which has 3-4 food fences but no locked gates or anything), could I be liable under the attractive nuisance? I live in Illinois, USA, so if anyone has IL/USA expertise, I would especially appreciate that.
I just want to eliminate any risk of liability. I was thinking I would either get one of the freestanding hoops or a backboard I could nail to my garage. Would one of those be safer than the other in terms of liability? (I assume the backboard alone would be safer for the kids) And is there a way for me to ensure I don't have any liability, like putting a sign up on the hoop or something?
I'd appreciate any help anyone might have. Thanks!
Creek is maybe 1' deep during normal weather, but during flooding it can reach up to 6' deep in places. The bridge would be made of wood & rope and cover an approx 30' span about 7' off the ground.
We are in the suburbs & this creek is part of the local stormwater system, as well, but I own all the property it sits on. There are currently no structures of any kind on the lot and I carry no insurance on it. Any info appreciated. Thanks!
We recently purchased a house on a 1.5 acre property. It came with one of those swing sets that has a slide and a rock climbing wall, but it's about 10 years old and looks it. Next to the swing set is one of those round netted swings, suspended from a tree. Near that is a big hammock between a couple other trees.
We don't have kids. We have NO need for these items. Our neighbors do have kids, and the kids are always playing on all three of them. The other day, I heard screaming, and I ran outside, only to see the neighbor kid running back to his house holding his arm.
Next thing I know, I get a knock on my door by the mother. She wanted to warn me that one of the rock wall knob things is loose. I told her I would appreciate it if her kids didn't play on the equipment. Her response was that it was all there before we bought the house, her kids have always played on it, and the last neighbors didn't care. Then she told me that I'm "lucky" she doesn't sue me for the condition of the rock wall. She said she will have to talk to her husband because they might need to look into that "option."
Would immediately getting rid of the equipment or putting up a $3,000 fence around that area be admitting liability? If so, what should I do?
So we have a fenced in backyard and we recently purchased a Black Friday special for our 5 yr olds...
Is there a liability if say we went on vacation for 2 weeks and find out one of the neighborhood kids came in and hurt themselves on the trampoline?
What if there weren’t any fence? I have seen a few neighbors without any backyard fence with a 15’ trampoline and no nettings.
My security camera showed children riding their scooters and bikes down my driveway while I was away from the house at work. For reference, I have a very steep concrete driveway that would allow a kid on a scooter to pick up significant speed. My driveway feeds into a slow-mph residential road.
Through some research, I have found laws under the umbrella of attractive nuisance require that I help to control any child and their potential endangerment while on my property if I have an attractive nuisance.
Does anyone know if having a steep hill for a driveway could be considered an attractive nuisance?
For example if you built a pool on an island in a small lake would it need a fence?
Seriously wondering. I know mistakes happen but why would 100% liability fall on the homeowner, even if they dont have kids and have no reason to "childproof" thier own yard.
Why are they blamed and charged with a crime instead of people who arent watching their own kids properly and are letting them wander off onto other peoples private property?
So I am seriously just wondering how this law is even a thing. I'm sorry but if I mean if have a pool on my property, why am I held accountable if other people arent watching their kids? And they come onto my property/get hurt?
Like if your kids are big enough to wander off that far without supervision, you should have at least started teaching them that "this isnt yours"/ "dont leave our yard"/ "you cant just go into other peoples yards" type basic shit.
So I guess my logic is, why should I have to spend thousands more on a big fence if they wont spend $100 on a damn babysitter?
I was reading Dear Prudence, like I do religiously, and I came across the concept of the "attractive nuisance" when a letter writer was seeking advice on how to keep neighborhood children from sneaking into their pool. Apparently, if you have something that kids are drawn to and that poses a potential threat to their safety (trampoline, pool, treehouse, whatever), then YOU are responsible if they trespass on your property and get hurt or killed. What the hell, man? Why should it be my problem that I have nice things and you can't teach your children not to trespass?
We just finished building a treehouse in our front yard. The base is about 12 feet off the ground and the ladder (the only way to get to it) is removed when we are not home or are not supervising. FWIW, there are 34” railings surrounding the base of the treehouse to reduce the risk.
The ladder is VERY heavy, so it is unreasonable to expect a child to move it, and my question is whether we can do something to enable the kids to close down the treehouse when they’re done using it and before the adults have a chance to remove the ladder so that we don’t have an attractive nuisance (I recognize that relying on kids to be responsible is risky in and of itself; I’m just thinking through options.)
The low-tech idea I am thinking through is to get a 24” plank (the ladder is 24” wide) to snap on top of the rails of the (which would also cover the stairs) so that there is no easy way to climb the ladder. Would that be enough to avoid an attractive nuisance claim?
tl;dr: girl fell in outhouse, parents are threatening charges.
My SO and I own a cabin and a chunk of land near a managed lake. The area is a sort-of-gated community full of travel trailers, weekend camps, summer cabins, and so on. We're one of the few people who live there for most of the year, weather permitting. Electricity is from solar panels with a generator for backup, water comes from the well, Internet is by satellite, and grey water goes into the garden. It's pretty awesome.
In the name of rustic simplicity, rather than put in pipes, running water, and a septic tank, we just built an outhouse on the property. The pit is three feet square and about eight feet deep. The boards and bench over it are screwed down, but loosely, in case we have to fish something or someone out. (Foreshadowing!) The outhouse is set on a small hill, but is only visible from the road in winter when the leaves drop. However, we are on the road leading to the nicest swimming part of the lake, and we throw a lot of BBQs for neighbors and friends, so all the local kids know where it is. We keep it latched but not padlocked.
Now. Don't ask me how this happened, because all I can do is roll my eyes and say 'fucking teenagers, dude'. We got a call one afternoon telling us that a certain 12-year-old girl, daughter of someone who's a neighbor but not a close friend, was in our outhouse and needed fishing out. We got the ladder and fished. The story she told was that she had an emergency on the way back from the swimming hole, took advantage of our facilities, and accidentally dropped her cell phone down the hole. Instead of coming to our house to ask for help, she and her friends decided to take the bench apart and climb down into the pit to get it. When she got stuck and couldn't get back out, her friends gave us a call and skedaddled. So we got her out, rinsed her down, and sent her home. No harm, no foul, right?
(Okay, she was pretty foul. She'd been down there for over an hour before one of her friends called us.)
When she got home, her parents called. They were pissed at us (???), wanted to know why we didn't lock the outhouse (who locks an outhouse?), and wanted us to pay for their daughter's broken phone and ruined clothes. Our position was that the daughter was trespassing, that she had to physically dismantle the outhouse in order to get herself stuck, and that blaming us is really fucking stupid. Things escalated from there. I don't think w
... keep reading on reddit ➡(In Minnesota) This is a follow-up to this post.
As far as the attractive nuisance issues, thank you for the legal advice and I will address this asap. As far as the kid instigating / dog bite issue, I do plan to object to the doctor bill as I do see this as a separate issue (since no injury happened specifically due to a "nuisance" accident, 13 is potentially too old for attractive nuisance, etc.) but I'll let insurance or claims decide this. Whatever happens is fine.
I do have some more questions though because this is a really odd situation. So here's what my yard looks like.
Up until 2017 my neighbor / kids / grandpa had access to and use of "old shed" on the property through an arrangement with the previous owner who bought the lot and built the house in 2008. Part of my purchase agreement though was to tear down "old shed" and be rid of the eyesore and issue.
Right away we had boundary issues with the neighbor's kids. They continued to act and talk as though certain areas are still "their grandpa's yard" and we've had to continually remind them of property lines. Their parents are rarely out of the house or dealing with any of this, and the few times we've tried to speak to them about it has been horrible. The kids kind of just do whatever they want.
They come into my yard from their yard, from their grandpa's yard, or wander the field and come into my woods, or come down the dead end road and into my yard or woods, or cut through into the field. It's constant, and from all sides.
And the poor kids, it seems like they're so bored their parents never do anything with them, so even if they're not in my yard they'll stand in their yard and just stare at us, or in grandpa's yard and watch us sit on our patio, or come down the dead end road and just watch us playing. It's so awkward.
BUILD A FENCE. Yes, I know. That's my plan.
It's a half acre, the one side cuts right through these trees, and so if it were simple logistically or financially I'd already have a fence up! As far as the previous advice to just fence in the trampoline, etc., that solves one problem of my liability, but won't fix these trespassing issues.
So a few questions...
Is anyone aware of Minnesota law with fences, or who I need to contact to potentially fence the two property lines with neighbor and grandpa
... keep reading on reddit ➡I own a fairly large piece of land that abuts a number of other woodlots, maybe 500 acres together. People use our land for mountain biking, and we are all fine with that. Vermont does not permit people to successfully sue the landowner if they ride into a tree or otherwise get injured.
Every few decades, I have my trees harvested. One logger told me he didn't want to do it if people are going to be nearby in case he drops a tree on them. I can understand this. But I know of a swimming hole where people drown regularly and have read that if that landowner puts up a warning sign, it would actually open him up to legal action. (The law is a ass, right?)
So if I temporarily block or put signs on the paths, am I increasing my liability?
My human is growing catnip in the backyard, so I went a little crazy rolling around in it. I didn't really have permission, but it was right out in the open, no fence around it or anything!
It's also been attracting a shady cat from a couple doors down. He keeps cat-calling me whenever he catches a glimpse of me. It makes me uncomfortable, and he's really loud.
Can I sue my human for creating an attractive nuisance? What about disrupting my quiet enjoyment?
Kinda similar to The Pretty Reckless but also not really.
