Legal Disclaimer?

[swizzle]

I've been turned down a number of times by land owners afraid of me getting hurt on their property. I'm not a wordsmith when it comes to legal matters but it seems like a simple, properly worded paper with 3 signatures should stand up in court. Something that basically states (If I get hurt on your property doing something stupid then its my problem and not yours). Would such a paper stand up in court or would it need to be notarized? I'm sure each state would be different so I'm seeking advice for the state of New York. Any help on wording would be great. Here's all I have so far.

"I ___________ assume full responsibilities for my actions on the property of ______________, in the case that I get injured on said property. I will not use this document as a free pass to come and go as I please and will inform the land owner of my comings and goings. The home owner has the right to deny me from entering their property at any time, for little or no reason."

and then I'm drawing a blank. I want to make the land owners aware that the ball is in their court to give them a sense of power and not helpless wonder. The next thing I'm sure would be what to do in case something of value is found on their property and the their rights to see everything that I have found. I don't want to give them the rights to take all the goodies and leave me with slicks. After all there's no sense in digging for 8 hours to make their bottle collection look good. Has anyone seen or did a similar write up? I think a paper like this would put their minds at ease and hopefully open up a lot of doors. Also should there be 2 copies? One for me and one for them? So many people now are so afraid of getting sued that they are afraid to let anyone on their property. I think a nice legal paper that we could all copy and use would open the doors to a lot more opportunities and a lot more bottles on this site. I can honestly picture printing out 100 of these and going from door to door in older sections of town and handing then out. Complete with my phone number so that they can call me back. A weeks worth of door knocking could easily put you into digging dumps that no one else has dug and you'll be digging them for years. I think it would also be beneficial to come up with a "bottle diggers creed" to go along with the paper. Fill the holes back in when your done type thing and build a good set of references. Any thought or ideas here guys? Swiz

 

[woodswalker]

That sounds like a really good idea swiz....at least they don't just simply say NO...that seems to be all I run into. And I don't know if you do or not but maybe if they know that you have your own health insurance might help a little....
Also good question on what you should do if you find something of value....I wouldn't really make it a point to show them what you've found unless they ask...and most people don't know or appreciate the value or beauty in a bottle...plus they aren't the ones out there sweating their bum off in the heat and getting chewed up by bugs. I would have to say as it's been suggested to me by other members to offer them a nice bottle or something like that....The people that just bought the land behind me don't want me back there anymore but thats where I dug up that blob top....my oldest bottle find yet and I can't go back[] The guy yelled at me and asked if I could read...I guess he had no trespassing signs all along the road...but none in the woods where I had come thru...he tried to make me leave all my stuff their to...I had the bottle hidden but there was no way I was leaving my gear or my camera!!!
Oh well...I hope you have some luck with this...keep us posted on how it goes[]
Amanda

 

[swizzle]

If I can get something that's worded well and that I know is legal then I'll be more then glad to give it a try. It'd be cool to have a little brochure or something that I could just leave on the front door if no one is home. Maybe with some pics of before and after. A couple tarps to throw the dirt on and that would make it easier to refill the hole. If its close enough to their house I could easily load up 5 gallon buckets full of trash and dump that back in the hole and backfill on top so nothing is sticking out. A couple houses like that with pcs and references would make it a lot easier to get permission to dig more untouched places. Swiz

 

[whiskeyman]

Swiz...ya need to say something in there about releasing the land owner from all liability in case of accident, etc...that such liability will be assumed solely by yourself in the event of an occurrence...mebbe???

oh...and you also will assume responsibilty for damages to his property as a result of your digging..??

This is to assure the owner you will leave things as you found them and not tear his property up..

 

[swizzle]

I was thinking about the property damage issue too. You know once you think about it you can spend 2 weeks digging a dump and spend a whole day filling it back in. That day and a good reference could very well get you the next Yes that would have been a No without it. Its those people that have been saying No for years that are protecting some of the older dumps. A simple No through the 70's has most likely saved a ton of good digging. Add some pictures of previous digs showing little or no damage and that could be all you need to get your foot in the door. I do want to make sure that they know that they won't be responsible for anything. All it takes is for one person who knows a person who got sued and they're afraid to trust anyone. I really would like to dig up some local history and add some content to our museums. I don't want to be the guy that just digs bottles for cash and then runs to the next dump. Sort of a Redneck Archaeologist. The hardest part is going to be getting that disclaimer down and worded right so they feel comfortable with me and what I'm trying to do. Swiz

 

[idigjars]

Jason, or anybody else that might want a copy. I have a printed release form.

I obtained it years ago and apologize for not remembering where I acquired it to give somebody credit for it but I've used it when needed for the past 20 years and it seems to ease folks fears when you pull it out.

Email me and I will be happy to send an email with a copy of the form to whoever wants it.

Paul

idigjars@comcast.net

 

[blobbottlebob]

Interesting ideas. I was faced with a similar situation about diving. In one of the spots where I frequently dive, the head of the lake owners association expressed to me that people were worried that I would sue them if anything happened. Because of that, he asked that I stop going there. I typed up a little release basically stating that I assumed every risk and that I held the lake association blameless for anything and everything that might happen to me. He was satisfied with that and has never approached me again about it.

 

[swizzle]

I'd like to see a bottle digger release form in the form of a pinned thread in here somewhere for all of us to use. Just a copy and paste or a link to something that can be printed out. I'm assuming that you really only need the one copy for the owner and nothing for your own unless you really want it. Now isn't that kinda like when you sell a car and just write out your own bill of sale. I would guess that in a pinch a handwritten copy would work just as well although a print out would be much more professional looking. Swiz

 

[swizzle]

Ok, this is what I got from Paul. I think a few of us should be able to use it. Of course this is just a copy and paste and will most likely get screwed up. Just copy and paste the words, and add the lines that you need and then print out your own copies and you should be good. A big THANX to Paul and to whoever Paul got this from. Swiz

The undersigned individual/individuals who is/are participating in a bottle search on your property, does/do hereby agree to waive any claims for injuries that may be received while present on your property for the purpose of searching for bottles and the activities connected therewith. In addition, the undersigned individual/individuals agree not to institute any legal action pursuant to injuries suffered thereon, provided that any dangerous conditions or substances which exist on the property are made known to said individual/individuals. The undersigned individual/individuals also agrees/agree that they will cause no damage to your property.
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________

Additional agreements, if any: _____________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

 

[RedGinger]

I need to get to the library and print one of these out. Just across the rode is an awesome house. The Job Moses house to be exact. I have mentioned it several times, just haven't felt like it was the right time to ask them. With this in hand, it may either confuse or delight them, so I'll talk to them first. I've been talking about the place and "the boys" are like, yeah, but who's going to help you dig out the privy? Uh, you are! [][8|]

P.S. Thank you for the form Paul and for Swiz posting it!