Utah Not Liable in Bear Attack, State Court Finds
A Utah district court judge yesterday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit brought against the state by the parents of a 12-year old boy who was attacked by a bear while camping on U.S. Forest Service land there.
Sam Ives’ parents contend that the state and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources failed to warn people of bear danger on the day their son was killed near American Fork Canyon. Earlier that morning, the Salt Lake Tribune reports, there were incidents of a bear attacking other campers.
In 2010, the Utah Supreme Court found that the state was not protected from liability based on the Government Immunity Act, overturning a lower court ruling. The case went back to trial court, and yesterday Judge David Mortensen found that the state had no specific duty to warn the plaintiffs.
“This court also concludes that a bear is a natural condition on the land and thus even assuming the state has duty, the state is immunized from suit,” Mortensen wrote in his ruling siding with the state.
In May, a federal judge awarded the family $1.95 million in damages, finding that the U.S. Forest Service should have warned campers about the bear danger.
