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Premise and Trespasser Liability

Property owners should not be held liable for injuries sustained by trespassers who unlawfully enter their property or engage in criminal activity unbeknownst to the property owner.

The Problem

ATRA’s Position

Enact laws that clearly limit property owner liability for injuries to trespassers, ensuring fairness while maintaining reasonable safety standards for lawful visitors.

Search Through ATRA Reforms

Search through all of ATRA's reforms around Premise and Trespasser Liability
Trespass Reform: S.B. 494 (2011)
Codifies Oklahoma common law which provides that land possessors do not owe a duty of care to trespassers, except under very narrow circumstances. ...
Oklahoma
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Landowner Immunity for Injuries to Trespassers: H.B. 1452 (2011)
Codifies existing law with respect to trespassers by providing landowners immunity from liability for injuries to trespassers.  Establishes that a pos...
North Dakota
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Trespass Liability Reform: S.B. 2719 (2012)
Codifies the common law regarding liability of a possessor of land relating to an individual trespassing on the possessor’s land.  Provides that...
Tennessee
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Trespasser Liability Reform: S.B. 1410 (2012)
Codifies the common law regarding liability of a possessor of land relating to an individual trespassing on the possessor’s land.  Provides that...
Arizona
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Trespass Liability: H.B. 5335 (2014)

Codifies the common law of trespass in Michigan.

Michigan
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Trespasser Liability: S.B. 3 (2015)
Codifies existing common law in West Virginia regarding the duty of care land owners owe trespassers.  Provides that a possessor or real property owes...
West Virginia
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Trespasser Liability: H.B. 3266 (2015)
Establishes the “Trespasser Responsibility Act,” which provides that a landowner owes no duty to trespassers except to refrain from causing willful or...
South Carolina
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Trespasser Liability: S.B. 160 (2015)

Restores the traditional common law duty of limited care for all defendants in trespasser cases.

Nevada
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Trespasser Liability: S.B. 306 (2015)
Provides that a person who possesses real property does not owe a duty of care to a           trespasser, except to refrain from willfully or wantonly...
Indiana
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Trespasser Liability: H.B. 767 (2016)
Provides that a possessor of land owes no duty of care to a trespasser, except to refrain from           willfully or wantonly injuring such a person....
Mississippi
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Premise and Trespasser Liability News and Press

Explore ATRA's most recent press releases and blogs around Premise and Trespasser Liability

Gov. Kemp Signs Major Tort Reform Bills in ‘Judicial Hellhole’ Georgia

Today, the American Tort Reform Association celebrates Gov. Brian Kemp sig...
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Liability Reform Bills Prioritized and Signed in Montana

Another key civil justice reform bill was signed today by Governor Greg Gi...
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Search Resources

Search through all of ATRA's Amicus Briefs, Reports, and Other Resources around Premise and Trespasser Liability
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States
Status
Post Types
Date
Bio-Lab, Inc. v. Fannie Tartt et al.
(GA, filed January 20, 2026): Arguing that traditional tort law and persuasive decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous state high courts do ...
Georgia
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
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Sanctionable: The unsupported, exaggerated, and suspicious claims plaguing our nation’s courts
There is growing concern that many lawsuits filed in our nation’s courts are unsupported, involve manufactured or exaggerated injuries, or stem from ...
California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania
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Lyon v. Riverside Methodist Hospital et. al.
(OH., filed October 7, 2025): Arguing that the Court should review the lower court’s decision because the Court should comprehensively address the co...
Ohio
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
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Atlas Turner, Inc. v. Welch
(U.S., filed September 22, 2025): Arguing the Court should review the use of receiverships by the South Carolina asbestos court.  The receivership pr...
SCOTUS
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
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Letter to House Judiciary Committee re: Protection of Lawful Commerce in Stone Slab Products Act
This letter was submitted on behalf of the American Tort Reform Association to express our support for H.R. 5437, the “Protection of Lawful Commerce ...
California
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Letter to DOJ re: RFI on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Interstate Commerce
Re: Request for Information on State Laws Having Significant Adverse Effects on the National Economy or Significant Adverse Effects on Interstate Com...
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Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish
(U.S., filed September 12, 2025): Arguing that the Louisiana coastal litigation proves the importance of federal officer removal.  The Government law...
SCOTUS
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
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Suncor Energy Inc., et. al. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, et. al.
(U.S., filed September 12, 2025): Urging the Court to grant the petition for certiari.  Arguing that global climate change is not traditional st...
SCOTUS
  • Court Granted Cert iconCourt Granted Cert
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Sommerville v. Union Carbide and Covestro LLC
(4th Circ., filed September 9, 2025): Supporting rehearing en banc. Arguing that Article III standing requires an injury that is concrete and particu...
4th Circuit
  • Court Ruled Against ATRA's Position iconCourt Ruled Against ATRA's Position
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Ortiz v. Daimler Trucks North America LLC
(CA., filed September 4, 2025): Urging the court to review the lower court’s decision because in combination with the decision in Gilead, it threaten...
California
  • Case Not Yet Decided iconCase Not Yet Decided
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