A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning civil procedure.
HB 1076 creates a new chapter in Indiana civil procedure law granting immunity from civil liability to owners, spectators, and promoters connected with off-road vehicle use on real property. The bill applies when a participant, or the participant’s personal representative, brings a claim for property damage, property loss, injury, or death that results from the inherent risks of off-road vehicle use. It defines key terms such as “off-road vehicle,” “participant,” “owner,” “promoter,” “spectator,” and “inherent risks,” and it specifically describes risks like changes in terrain, collisions with objects, animal attacks, operator error, and delayed access to medical care in remote locations.
The bill also sets out exceptions to immunity. It does not apply to employer-employee relationships, and it does not shield an owner, spectator, or promoter from liability for intentional injury, gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, criminal conduct, or other conduct that proximately causes injury, damage, or death. In effect, the bill functions as an assumption-of-risk style liability shield for off-road recreation activities while preserving claims for more serious misconduct.
Its impact on state law would be to add IC 34-30-37 as a new immunity chapter, limiting civil suits arising from ordinary dangers associated with off-road vehicle recreation on private property. The law would affect property owners, clubs, businesses, event organizers, and spectators who allow or facilitate off-road vehicle use, as well as participants and their estates. It would likely reduce exposure to negligence claims tied to inherent recreational risks, while leaving existing tort remedies intact for conduct outside the bill’s protections.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative debate or formal support/opposition in the materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as a liability protection for recreational land use and off-road vehicle events, with a clear effort to balance that protection against exceptions for intentional or reckless conduct. The absence of voting history or discussion limits any assessment of broader political sentiment.
HB 1076 would add a new immunity chapter to Indiana Code 34-30-37, limiting civil liability for owners, spectators, and promoters involved in off-road vehicle use on real property. It would bar claims by participants or their personal representatives for property loss, property damage, injury, or death caused by the inherent risks of off-road vehicle use, while preserving liability for intentional harm, gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, criminal conduct, and certain employer-employee claims. The bill would primarily affect landowners, off-road recreation operators, clubs, businesses, event sponsors, spectators, participants, and their estates.
No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no documented public debate or recorded legislative sentiment in the materials. From the bill text, the measure appears generally pro-liability-protection and pro-recreational-use, with a narrow focus on shielding participants and organizers from ordinary risk-based lawsuits while preserving claims for serious misconduct. The structure suggests an attempt to balance recreation access with tort accountability.
The main points of contention likely concern whether the bill goes too far in insulating owners, promoters, and spectators from negligence claims, versus whether such immunity is necessary to support off-road recreation and land access. The bill’s exceptions for intentional injury, gross negligence, and willful or wanton misconduct indicate an effort to address concerns about overbroad immunity. Potentially affected parties include private landowners, off-road vehicle clubs, event promoters, insurers, participants, and injured parties or their families.