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Florida Statute 316.0085 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 316.0085 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES
Chapter 316
STATE UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL
View Entire Chapter
316.0085 Skateboarding; inline skating; freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling; paintball; definitions; liability.
(1) The purpose of this section is to encourage governmental owners or lessees of property to make land available to the public for skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, and freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling. It is recognized that governmental owners or lessees of property have failed to make property available for such activities because of the exposure to liability from lawsuits and the prohibitive cost of insurance, if insurance can be obtained for such activities. It is also recognized that risks and dangers are inherent in these activities, which risks and dangers should be assumed by those participating in such activities.
(2) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Governmental entity” means:
1. The United States, the State of Florida, any county or municipality, or any department, agency, or other instrumentality thereof.
2. Any school board, special district, authority, or other entity exercising governmental authority.
(b) “Inherent risk” means those dangers or conditions that are characteristic of, intrinsic to, or an integral part of skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, and freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling.
(3)(a) This section does not grant authority or permission for a person to engage in skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling on property owned or controlled by a governmental entity unless such governmental entity has specifically designated such area for skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling. Each governmental entity shall post a rule in each specifically designated area that identifies all authorized activities.
(b) Each governmental entity shall post a rule in each specifically designated area for paintball or mountain and off-road bicycling which indicates that a child under 17 years of age may not engage in such activities until the governmental entity has obtained written consent, in a form acceptable to the governmental entity, from the child’s parent or legal guardian.
(4) A governmental entity or public employee is not liable to any person who voluntarily participates in skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling for any damage or injury to property or persons which arises out of a person’s participation in such activity, and which takes place in an area designated for such activity.
(5) This section does not limit liability that would otherwise exist for any of the following:
(a) The failure of the governmental entity or public employee to guard against or warn of a dangerous condition of which a participant does not and cannot reasonably be expected to have notice.
(b) An act of gross negligence by the governmental entity or public employee that is the proximate cause of the injury.
(c) The failure of a governmental entity that provides a designated area for paintball or mountain and off-road bicycling to obtain the written consent, in a form acceptable to the governmental entity, from the parents or legal guardians of any child under 17 years of age before allowing such child to participate in paintball or mountain and off-road bicycling in such designated area, unless that child’s participation is in violation of posted rules governing the authorized use of the designated area, except that a parent or legal guardian must demonstrate that written consent to engage in mountain or off-road bicycling in a designated area was provided to the governmental entity before entering the designated area.

Nothing in this subsection creates a duty of care or basis of liability for death, personal injury, or damage to personal property. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to be a waiver of sovereign immunity under any circumstances.

(6) Nothing in this section shall limit the liability of an independent concessionaire, or any person or organization other than a governmental entity or public employee, whether or not the person or organization has a contractual relationship with a governmental entity to use the public property, for injuries or damages suffered in any case as a result of the operation of skateboards, inline skates, paintball equipment, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycles on public property by the concessionaire, person, or organization.
(7)(a) Any person who participates in or assists in skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling assumes the known and unknown inherent risks in these activities irrespective of age, and is legally responsible for all damages, injury, or death to himself or herself or other persons or property which result from these activities. Any person who observes skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain or off-road bicycling assumes the known and unknown inherent risks in these activities irrespective of age, and is legally responsible for all damages, injury, or death to himself or herself which result from these activities. A governmental entity that sponsors, allows, or permits skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain or off-road bicycling on its property is not required to eliminate, alter, or control the inherent risks in these activities.
(b) While engaged in skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain or off-road bicycling, irrespective of where such activities occur, a participant is responsible for doing all of the following:
1. Acting within the limits of his or her ability and the purpose and design of the equipment used.
2. Maintaining control of his or her person and the equipment used.
3. Refraining from acting in any manner which may cause or contribute to death or injury of himself or herself, or other persons.

Failure to comply with the requirements of this paragraph shall constitute negligence.

(8) The fact that a governmental entity carries insurance which covers any act described in this section shall not constitute a waiver of the protections set forth in this section, regardless of the existence or limits of such coverage.
History.s. 1, ch. 99-133; s. 1, ch. 2004-288; s. 7, ch. 2006-290; s. 1, ch. 2015-48.

F.S. 316.0085 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 316.0085


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 316.0085

Total Results: 11  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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United States v. Dwayne Berman Cooper, 133 F.3d 1394 (11th Cir. 1998).

Cited 67 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

approaching from the same direction.” Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995). Upon due consideration of the record
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Fleetwood Homes of Florida, Inc. v. Reeves, 833 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).

Cited 10 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 31875183

...(2001) (individuals in franchise relationships who commit fraudulent misrepresentation). "Gross negligence" by a government entity waives sovereign immunity in many contexts. See § 252.51, Fla. Stat. (2001) (conducts mock emergencies to train emergency personnel); § 316.0085, Fla....
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Hunter v. Ward, 812 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002).

Cited 6 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 518537

approaching traffic behind him in the left lane, see section 316.085(2), Florida Statutes (2000); that before he
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Eden v. Food Fair Stores, Inc., 330 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

refusal of a requested instruction on Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2), which imposes restrictions upon a driver changing
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John Casserly v. The City of Delray Beach, 228 So. 3d 135 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 4280599

...In the complaint, the plaintiff alleged, in sum, that the City’s negligence in failing to repair or warn against a pothole in the City’s street caused him injuries when he tripped over the pothole while rollerblading in the street. The circuit court reasoned that sections 316.0085 and 316.2065(11), Florida Statutes (2014), when read together, precluded the City’s liability. The plaintiff primarily argues the circuit court erred by ruling that sections 316.0085 and 316.2065(11) must be read together. According to the plaintiff, each statute is clear and unambiguous and should have been given them plain and obvious meanings, which do not preclude the City’s liability. We agree with the plaintiff to the extent he argues that section 316.0085 may be read on its own without consideration of section 316.2065(11). However, reading section 316.0085 on its own still precludes the City’s liability....
...2009) (“We review de novo the dismissal of a complaint for failure to state a cause of action.”); Execu-Tech Business Systems, Inc. v. New Oji Paper Co. Ltd., 752 So.2d 582, 584 (Fla. 2000) (“A trial court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss based on a question of law is subject to de novo review.”). Section 316.0085, Florida Statutes (2014), entitled “Skateboarding; inline skating; freestyle or mountain and off-road bicycling; paintball; definitions; liability,” provides, in pertinent part: (1) The purpose of this section is to encourage gov...
...other persons or property which result from these activities.... A governmental entity that sponsors, allows, or permits ... inline skating ... on its property is not required to eliminate, alter, or control the .inherent risks in these activities. § 316.0085, Fla....
...s claim even though, he was damaged or injured while inline skating in an area not designated for such activity. . We reject this second argument as also leading to an absurd result. Given the Legislature’s express statement in subsection (3) that section 316.0085 “does not grant authority or permission for a person to engage in ......
...result to conclude that the Legislature nevertheless intended to permit governmental liability under subsection (5)(a) where a person is damaged or injured while inline skating, in an area not designated for such activity. Given our conclusion that section 316.0085, read on its own, precludes the City’s liability, we also conclude that the circuit court’s error, ruling that sections 316,0085 and 316.2065(11) must be read together, was harmless, Dade Cnty....
...1999) (“[I]f a trial court reaches the right result, but for the wrong reasons, it will be upheld if there is any basis which would support the judgment in the record.”). In any event, to the extent the' circuit court’s ruling may have implicitly recognized that section 316.2065(11), like section 316.0085, supported dismissal of the plaintiffs claim, we agree with such recognition....
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United States v. Smith, 772 F.3d 680 (11th Cir. 2014).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2014 WL 6725819

be made available for playing paintball. Id. § 316.0085(1). The panel acknowledges that the title and
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Lindsey v. Johnson, 415 So. 2d 778 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1982).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1982 Fla. App. LEXIS 20152

under the circumstances existing; (2) that Section 316.085(2) provides that a vehicle shall not be driven
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Emma Griffin v. Palm Beach Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

...against her on her negligence suit against Palm Beach County for injuries she suffered when she fell into a hole on a path maintained by the County, while she was rollerblading. The trial court granted summary judgment based upon the application of section 316.0085(4), Florida Statutes (2017), and Casserly v....
...The hole next to the pathway was obscured from her view by vegetation overgrowing the path. She filed a complaint against the County alleging negligence in failing to warn of a dangerous condition as well as failure to repair a dangerous condition. The County answered raising various defenses, but it did not raise section 316.0085(4), Florida Statutes (2017), as an affirmative defense. After discovery, the County moved for summary judgment and argued (for the first time) that Griffin was rollerblading on the pathway which was not specifically designated for rollerblading and therefore, pursuant to section 316.0085, the County was immune from liability. Section 316.0085(4) provides: A governmental entity or public employee is not liable to any person who voluntarily participates in skateboarding, inline skating, paintball, or freestyle or mountain and off-road bi...
...Robbins, 513 So. 2d 230 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)). While the County argues that Griffin did not object to its assertion of the statute as a bar, we note in the record that her attorney did state early in the hearing, “Also, as it relates to this statute [316.0085], this statute was not raised by Defendant, Palm Beach County, on their affirmative defenses.” 1 Therefore, we conclude her argument is properly preserved....
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United States v. Cooper (11th Cir. 1998).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

approaching from the same direction. Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995). 4 Consent is one of many factual
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United States v. Cooper (11th Cir. 1998).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

approaching from the same direction. Fla. Stat. § 316.085(2) (1995).
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Woodard v. Barkley, 523 So. 2d 777 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 13 Fla. L. Weekly 990, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 1663, 1988 WL 36053

trial court properly instructed the jury on section 316.-085(2), Florida Statutes (1985), entitled “Limitations

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. Attorney Syfert regularly works with Chapter 316 in the context of traffic and automobile accident law and represents clients throughout Northeast Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.