Landowner Support Fund

"The Vermont Mountain Bike Association (VMBA) hereby establishes a Landowner Support Fund (Fund). The purpose of the Fund is to provide landowners with protection from legal costs associated with defending a claim brought by a mountain biker."

This fund is unique and the first of its kind in the US.

Vermont Statutes (12 V.S.A. §5793) provides that no landowner is liable for any property damage or personal injury to a person who uses the property for recreation, provided a fee is not charged and the injury is not the result of willful or wanton misconduct of the landowner. While this statute protects landowners who comply with its terms from successfully being sued, it does not make them immune from a lawsuit. Either the landowner or their insurance company would have to pay for an attorney to represent them. The Fund would provide landowners with up to $1,500 to defray the legal costs of getting the lawsuit dismissed under 12 V.S.A. §5793. Additional monies from the Fund may be authorized at the sole discretion of the VMBA Board of Directors.

As part of the effort to protect landowners and ensure VMBA members access to trails, local VMBA chapters will work to enroll attorneys to work pro bono or at reduced rates to further protect landowners' rights.

To qualify for this protection a landowner must:

1. Have a signed VMBA landowner permission form that pre-dates the incident on which the lawsuit is premised.
2. Make the land available for recreational use without charging a fee.
3. Not have engaged in willful or wanton misconduct that caused or resulted in the injury.

In authorizing the establishment of the Fund the VMBA Board agrees that all monies raised shall be deposited in a dedicated "Landowner Support Fund" account and that the principle may only be used to defend landowners as specified above.