Article

'Tis the Season - Sled Run Accident on Private Property

1. ˜Tis the Season. Defendants built a sled run in their backyard. The course was constructed out of snow, sprayed with water and hardened into ice. The run was not open to the public, but defendants made it available to friends and neighbors. Plaintiff received permission to use the sled run and while on defendants™ property, slipped and fell thus suffering a fractured arm and a torn ligament in her knee. Plaintiff filed a negligence action and defendants moved for summary judgment based on the Recreational Use of Land and Water Areas Act (Act). The trial court awarded summary judgment, but the appellate court reversed. The Supreme Court held that the Act exists "to encourage owners of land to make land and water areas available to the public for recreational or conservation purposes by limiting their liability toward persons entering thereon for such purposes." The Legislature clearly drafted the Act so that it only applied to those landowners who open their property to the public. As defendants did not open their land to the public, but instead limited access to the sled run to invited guests, defendants were not protected by the Act and were not entitled to summary judgment. Hall v. Henn, No. 95431, 2003 Ill. LEXIS 2607 (Il. S.Ct. Dec. 18, 2003).