O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 4-12-4 (2019)

Warning required; effect of failure to comply with notice requirement

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) Every equine professional and every equine activity sponsor shall post and maintain signs which contain the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this Code section. Such signs shall be placed in a clearly visible location on or near stables, corrals, or arenas where the equine professional or the equine activity sponsor conducts equine activities. The warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this Code section shall appear on the sign in black letters, with each letter to be a minimum of one inch in height. Every written contract entered into by an equine professional or by an equine activity sponsor for the providing of professional services, instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or an equine to a participant, whether or not the contract involves equine activities on or off the location or site of the equine professional’s or the equine activity sponsor’s business, shall contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in subsection (b) of this Code section. (b) The signs and contracts described in subsection (a) of this Code section shall contain the following warning notice: WARNING Under Georgia law, an equine activity sponsor or equine professional is not liable for an injury to or the death of a participant in equine activities resulting from the inherent risks of equine activities, pursuant to Chapter 12 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. (c) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warning signs and notices provided in this Code section shall prevent an equine activity sponsor or equine professional from invoking the privileges of immunity provided by this chapter.

History

(Code 1981, § 4-12-4, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 680, § 1.)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Finding of substantial compliance. - Because the unique circumstances of fox hunting were not expressly contemplated by the Injuries From Equine Activities Act, substantial compliance with the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 4-12-4 was found when the sponsor of a hunt posted signs at the clubhouse and at various locations at which the hunt frequently met, and on a vehicle windshield at the place where the hunt met on the day in question, and when the text of the warn-

ing sign was contained in a release signed by the plaintiff. Muller v. English, 221 Ga. App. 672, 472 S.E.2d 448 (1996). Warning in compliance. - Rider’s injuries, sustained when a portion of a hitching rail to which a horse was tied became detached and fell on the rider after the horse became spooked, resulted from the ‘‘inherent risks of equine activities,’’ as provided in O.C.G.A. § 4-12-2(7) and, thus, were in the scope of the Injuries from Equine or Llama Activities Act. The

Page: 157

Date: 06/14/13 Time: 10:58:25

GA RV 13 RV 4(T4-6) - EP

release signed by the mother contained the warning required by O.C.G.A. § 4-12-4. Mays v. Valley View Ranch, Inc.,

317 Ga. App. 143, 730 S.E.2d 592 (2012), cert. denied, No. S12C1980, 2012 Ga. LEXIS 980 (Ga. 2012).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1996–2022 · leading case: Muller v. English, 472 S.E.2d 448 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996).
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Muller v. English, 472 S.E.2d 448 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 14× “To invoke the privileges of immunity provided by the Code section, an equine activity sponsor or equine professional must post warning signs containing the text specified in OCGA § 4-12-4 (b), and certain contracts between equine activity sponsors or equine professionals and…”
Wiederkehr v. Brent, 548 S.E.2d 402 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 8× “However, for either equine activity sponsors and equine professionals to have immunity, OCGA § 4-12-4 (c) requires compliance with the duty to warn, i.”
Mays v. Valley View Ranch, Inc., 730 S.E.2d 592 (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 8× “Pertinent here is that OCGA § 4-12-4 requires every written contract entered into by an equine professional or by an equine activity sponsor for the providing of professional services, instruction, or the rental of equipment or tack or an equine to a participant to contain a…”
Fahey v. Kolcun Tree Care, LLC (S.D. Ga. 2022). · cites it 8× “O.C.G.A. § 4-12-4. 6 Even if the Wiederkehr court had gone further in its discussion and analysis, its statement would be nothing more than dicta, since it was not necessary for the Wiederkehr court to determine whether the Act only provides immunity to other people if and when…”
Sammie Mays v. Valley View Ranch, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 8× “OCGA § 4-12-4. 7 Loftin v. Lee, 341 SW3d 352, 357 (II) (Tex.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.