Harris v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County

Plaintiff Gary Charpentier appeals from a judgment dismissing his action as to defendant Marjorie Von Geldern after the trial court granted defendants motion for summary judgment. The primary question presented is whether a private owner of land bordering a navigable river is entitled to the protection of Civil Code section 846 when a person enters onto that land for access to the river for a recreational purpose, is injured while so using the river, and the landowner has done nothing to obstruct or impede that use. We answer in the affirmative and conclude the trial court properly granted defendants motion for summary judgment when it was shown there were no triable issues of fact as to plaintiffs recreational purpose in entering onto defendants land and as to the absence of willful or malicious misconduct by defendant.