House Bill No. 352

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act providing that the original owner or possessor of stolen personal property or the owner of real property criminally misused without the knowledge of the owner is not liable for injury or damages arising out of the use or misuse of the property while the property is possessed by another; and providing an applicability date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

NEW SECTION. Section 1.  Property owner's immunity from damage caused by use of property unlawfully taken. The original owner or possessor of personal property that is stolen is not liable for injury or damage arising out of the use of the property while the property is possessed by another. The owner of real property that is criminally misused by another without the owner's knowledge is not liable for injury or damage arising out of the misuse. This section includes but is not limited to the taking of a weapon by theft, robbery, or burglary directly from the person's body or from a place of residence, tent or other recreational structure, or motor vehicle or boat that is owned, possessed, or used by the person owning or possessing the weapon.

NEW SECTION. Section 2.  Two-thirds vote required. Because [section 1] limits governmental liability, Article II, section 18, of the Montana constitution requires a vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the legislature for passage.

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Applicability. [This act] applies to injuries and damages occurring after October 1, 1997.

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