Liberty v. State

ORS 105.682 provides that, when an owner of land permits any person to use the land for “recreational purposes,” the owner is not liable for personal injury, death, or property damage that arises out of the use of the land for such purposes. At issue in this case is the scope of that statutory immunity.

The owner of land — the state — permitted plaintiffs to use its land for access to an adjacent parcel of privately owned land, where plaintiffs went swimming. On the way back from their recreational activity, while on the state’s land, plaintiffs were injured. They initiated actions for…