Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 (2026)
Landowner's duty of care
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) The landowner, lessee, occupant, or any person in control of land or premises owes no duty of care to keep such land or premises safe for entry or use by others for such recreational activities as hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, water sports, white water rafting, canoeing, hiking, sightseeing, animal riding, bird watching, dog training, boating, caving, fruit and vegetable picking for the participant's own use, nature and historical studies and research, rock climbing, skeet and trap shooting, sporting clays, shooting sports, and target shooting, including archery and shooting range activities, skiing, off-road vehicle riding, and cutting or removing wood for the participant's own use, nor shall such landowner be required to give any warning of hazardous conditions, uses of, structures, or activities on such land or premises to any person entering on such land or premises for such purposes, except as provided in § 70-7-104.
- (b) The landowner, lessee, occupant, or any person in control of land or premises owes no duty of care to keep such land or premises safe for entry or use by others for recreational noncommercial aircraft operations or recreational noncommercial ultra light vehicle operations on private airstrips except as to known hazards or defects and except as provided in § 70-7-104.
Amended by 2015 Tenn. Acts, ch. 53,s 1, eff. 4/6/2015.
Acts 1963, ch. 177, § 3; T.C.A., § 51-803; Acts 1987, ch. 448, § 2; 2004, ch. 952, § 2; 2010, ch. 968, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22
cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1990–2026 · leading case: Rogers v. Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Com., 807 S.W.2d 242 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1990).
Rogers v. Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Com., 807 S.W.2d 242 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1990). “to examine (1) the question of the effect of a release of liability signed by one of the parents prior to the injury, and (2) whether Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 relieved the landowner of any duty of care to the deceased.”
Parent v. State, 991 S.W.2d 240 (Tenn. 1999). “is merely a statutory defense to other viable causes of action and that bicycling is an activity within the ambit of Tenn.Code Ann. § 70-7-102. The Court of Appeals’ decision reversing the commissioner is affirmed, and the case is remanded to the claims commission, BACKGROUND…”
Bishop v. Beckner, 109 S.W.3d 725 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002). “The core of the Recreational Use Statutes is found at T.C.A. § 70-7-102. As pertinent to the facts of this case, that statute provides as follows: The landowner, .”
Velda J. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405 (Tenn. 2013). “§ 11-25-104(1) (2012) (identifying certain "recreational opportunities” as "adventure tourism activities” for the purpose of the Doe Mountain Recreation Authority Act of 2012); Tenn.Code Ann. § 70-7-102(a) (2012) (limiting the liability of landowners to persons engaging in…”
Wilkerson Ex Rel. Wilkerson v. Altizer, 845 S.W.2d 744 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 . The Act, in essence, protects landowners from liability resulting from the use of the landowner's land by others for recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, camping, white-water rafting, etc.”
Matheny Ex Rel. Matheny v. Tennessee Valley Auth., 503 F. Supp. 2d 917 (M.D. Tenn. 2007). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 70-7-102. As will be discussed below, there are several problems with the application of the Statute in the present case.”
Sumner v. United States, 794 F. Supp. 1358 (M.D. Tenn. 1992). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 70-7-102 (emphasis added).”
In Re Tennessee Valley Auth. Ash Spill Litig., 805 F. Supp. 2d 468 (E.D. Tenn. 2011). “T.C.A. § 70-7-102. 6 The Tennessee Supreme Court has described this statute as “provid[ing] the State with limited immunity for injuries occurring on state-owned property during recreational use[,]” subject to certain limitations and exceptions.”
Hatcher v. United States, 855 F. Supp. 2d 728 (E.D. Tenn. 2012). “Alternatively, the United States argues that plaintiffs claims should be dismissed for failure to state a claim because plaintiff was engaged in a recreational activity during his visit to the Park that was covered by Tennessee’s Recreational Use Statute, Tenn.Code Ann. §…”
Curtis Pierce v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 . In the same vein, absent a delineated exception, the landowner is not required to give any warning of “hazardous conditions, uses of, structures, or activities on such land or premises to any person entering on such land or premises for…”
Homer McCaig v. Roy L. Whitmore (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 (emphasis added).”
Jordan K. Wilson v. David W. Dossett, Am. Honda Motor Co., & Fox Head, Inc. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2013). “Dossett filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting the affirmative defense for landowners under Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 . The Trial Court held that Dossett was afforded protection under the statute as Wilson had been engaged in recreational activities on Dossett’s land.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102(a) — 3 cases
Velda J. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405 (Tenn. 2013). “§ 11-25-104(1) (2012) (identifying certain "recreational opportunities” as "adventure tourism activities” for the purpose of the Doe Mountain Recreation Authority Act of 2012); Tenn.Code Ann. § 70-7-102(a) (2012) (limiting the liability of landowners to persons engaging in…”
Tennessee Firearms Ass'n v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville & Davidson Cnty., Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2017).
Tammala Thompson v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2026).
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