Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653 (2026)

Snowmobile Area Operators -- Duties

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 23. PARKS, RECREATION, SPORTS, AND GAMBLING

CHAPTER 2. RECREATION

Part 6. Snowmobiles

Snowmobile Area Operators -- Duties

23-2-653. Snowmobile area operators -- duties. (1) Consistent with the duty of reasonable care owed by a snowmobile area operator to a snowmobiler, the person responsible for the maintenance of or operation of a snowmobile area shall mark all trail maintenance vehicles and furnish the vehicles with flashing or rotating lights that must be in operation whenever the vehicles are working or are in movement in the snowmobile area.

(2) The snowmobile area operator owes a duty of reasonable care, as required by 27-1-701, to a snowmobiler except for the risks inherent in the sport of snowmobiling.

(3) Except as provided in this section, a snowmobile area operator has no duty to eliminate, alter, control, or lessen the risks inherent in the sport of snowmobiling.

History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 440, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 145, L. 1999.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases, 2004–2012 · leading case: Oberson v. United States Dep't of Agric., Forest Serv., 2007 MT 293 (Mont. 2007).

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Oberson v. United States Dep't of Agric., Forest Serv., 2007 MT 293 (Mont. 2007). · cites it 37× “We accepted the following three questions in our order dated April 5, 2006: ¶3 Does the gross negligence standard of care in the snowmobile liability statute, Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653 (1996), violate the Montana equal protection clause, Mont.”

Oberson v. United States, 311 F. Supp. 2d 917 (D. Mont. 2004). · cites it 6× “§ 23-2-653, and of snowmo-bilers, M.C.A. § 23-2-654.”

Donaldson v. State, 2012 MT 288 (Mont. 2012). · cites it 2× “Section 3-2-204, MCA. It is this Court’s opinion that Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity, if they choose to take it, to amend the complaint and to refine and specify the general constitutional challenges they have proffered.”

Oberson v. United States Dep't of Agric., Forest Serv., 441 F.3d 703 (9th Cir. 2006). “First, the district court barred affirmative defenses based upon the 1996 snowmobile statute’s gross negligence standard, Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653 , holding that standard of care to violate the Montana equal protection clause, Mont.”

Donaldson v. State of Montana, 2012 MT 288 (Mont. 2012). · cites it 2× “¶11 This Court may fashion the relief warranted by any appeal. Section 3-2-204, MCA. It is this Court’s opinion that Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity, if they choose to take it, to amend the complaint and to refine and specify the general constitutional challenges they…”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653(1) — 1 case

Oberson v. United States Dep't of Agric., Forest Serv., 2007 MT 293 (Mont. 2007). “We accepted the following three questions in our order dated April 5, 2006: ¶3 Does the gross negligence standard of care in the snowmobile liability statute, Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653 (1996), violate the Montana equal protection clause, Mont.”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653(2) — 2 cases

Oberson v. United States, 311 F. Supp. 2d 917 (D. Mont. 2004). “§ 23-2-653, and of snowmo-bilers, M.C.A. § 23-2-654.”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-653(3) — 2 cases

Oberson v. United States, 311 F. Supp. 2d 917 (D. Mont. 2004). “§ 23-2-653, and of snowmo-bilers, M.C.A. § 23-2-654.”

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.