There is an interesting lawsuit going on in New Hampshire that may, or may not, hold ramifications for Maine landowners and sportsmen.

William Jasmin of Manchester, N.H., is suing Charlie Corliss for injuries sustained in a fall from a tree stand while hunting on Mr.Corliss’s property. Jasmin maintains in the suit that he and a hunting partner received permission to use the tree stand in return for shooting as many coyotes on the property as possible. Corliss insists that he never gave any such permission and, in fact, never met the gentlemen in question. The hunter, Jasmin, contends that he had permission to hunt coyotes from Corliss’s tree stand and that, in exchange for use of the property and the tree stand, he would shoot as many coyotes as possible.

New Hampshire, like Maine, has a state landowner liability law. The state statues are similar. In Maine, the law states that a landowner has no legal liability or responsibility for any injuries to any person recreating on that land. Landowners are protected whether they gave permission to the user or not. This is not to say that a suit cannot be brought. In America, the Land of Litigation, anybody can bring a suit anytime they want as long as they can afford to hire an attorney.

But the odds of bringing a successful liability suit against a landowner by a hunter or a hiker are extremely remote given the clear, unequivocal language of the law. An unsuccessful litigant would have to pay the defending landowner’s legal costs. There has never been a case brought in Maine since the inception of the landowner liability law. There are, however, two instances where the landowner liability law, does not apply. A landowner who charges fees for use of his land is not protected. Additionally, the law does not give liability protection to a landowner who “maliciously fails” to guard against a dangerous condition on his property. This last proviso has come into play in the New Hampshire case.

The lawyer for the New Hampshire will no doubt contend that there was “consideration,” in that Jasmin agreed to kill coyotes in exchange for use of the land and the tree stand. Translation: The exception to the liability protection kicks in and Corliss has liability.

Although court outcomes can be a big crap shoot, it seems highly unlikely that Jasmin will prevail in court. According to New Hampshire outdoor writer Peter St. James, “Mr. Jasmin had consumed alcohol before he went up into the tree stand.” To make matters even worse, there is, according to St. James, some question about whether or not the hunter even had a hunting license at the time of the tree-stand accident!

As St. James rightly points out, Jasmin is not what good landowners relations programs need for a “poster boy.” Open access to Maine forestland by traditional users remains the sportsman issue of the decade. Responsible behavior by land users, which includes asking permission first, will go a long way to stem the tide of no trespassing signs on Maine lands.

The New Hampshire case is worth watching but, regardless of outcome, landowners in Maine, have nothing to fear. Our landowner liability law, Title 14, MRSA, Sec 159-A, is a solid statute that has worked and worked well.

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The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected] and his new book is “A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook.”