Francis v. State
Annotate this CasePlaintiffs were the parents of a boy killed by a bear while camping with his parents in American Fork Canyon. Plaintiffs sued the State for negligence in failing to warn Plaintiffs of the dangerous condition created by the bear. The district court dismissed the claims under the permit exception to the Utah Governmental Immunity Act. The Supreme Court reversed. On remand, the district court again dismissed the case, concluding (1) the State owed no duty to Plaintiffs; and (2) even if the State did owe a duty to Plaintiffs, the natural condition exception to the Immunity Act precluded liability. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the State owed Plaintiffs a duty because it undertook protective actions directed specifically at Plaintiffs as the next group to use the campsite; and (2) the natural condition exception did not immunize the state from liability because the bear was not a natural condition on the land pursuant to the Immunity Act. Remanded.
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