滨水附近财产损失、死亡或伤害的民事责任

关于滨水财产所有权的一个常见问题是财产损害的民事责任范围, injuries, or death occurring in the waterways adjacent to or on the property.  这个问题的答案涉及弗吉尼亚州法律(侵权法)和联邦法律(海商法和海事法)之间复杂的相互作用。.  本文旨在全面了解滨水物业业主应考虑的法律责任.

Virginia State Law

最常影响滨水物业业主的侵权法的两个分支是“处所责任”和“过失”.“房舍责任原则适用于被指控造成财产损害的人, injury or death also owns the bottomland at the accident site.  The negligence doctrine applies in all of the other situations.  

Premises Liability

In order to understand whether premises liability applies, 我们首先要确定滨水物业所有人是否拥有水下的洼地. In most cases, 滨水物业业主不拥有毗邻其物业的水体下的土地. This is because, as per Virginia Code § 28.2-1200, the bottomland of rivers, creeks, bays, 海滩通常归英联邦所有，由公众托管. Consequently, 根据“房屋责任”原则，财产所有人一般不承担在河流中发生的财产损失或伤害的法律风险, bays, and oceans adjacent to their properties.

However, 少数例外情况是，私人团体可以拥有这类水体下的洼地.  For instance, 如果土地所有人的所有权链可以追溯到殖民时期，并显示对洼地的所有权，那么他们就可以拥有“国王授予”. 

It is important to understand that Virginia Code § 28.2-1200 applies to rivers, creeks, bays, and shores of the sea.  但在其他类型的水体中，人们经常对洼地行使私人所有权.  These include privately owned ponds, lakes, and non-navigable streams.

If a person owns the bottomland, 根据房屋责任原则，他/她可能对伤害或损害承担责任.  当房屋责任适用时，弗吉尼亚州法律将潜在原告分为三组:

侵入者:如果个人侵入其财产并造成伤害，土地所有者通常不承担责任.

Licensee: If someone has the landowner's permission to be on the waterbody, such as a social guest, 只有当土地所有人意识到不明显的危险而没有警告持牌人时，他们才有责任.

受邀者:当场地对公众开放进行特定活动时, like swimming or boating, 土地所有人对受邀者负有更高的注意义务，并可能承担重大的民事责任.

Significantly, in order to be successful, 原告还必须证明过失是造成伤害或损害的近因.  For example, “[T]he mere fact that a person has drowned in a swimming pool or lake, 即使业主和经营者疏忽，没有使用合理的注意来保护他的顾客, does not, without more, establish the liability of a defendant.  被告的过失必须与溺水有因果关系, 在没有证据表明被告的过失是导致死亡的近因的情况下就无法获得赔偿.”  Blacka v. James, 205 Va. 646, 139 S.E.2d 47 (1964)

虽然很难确定在水体中发生的事故的责任, it is not impossible.  For example, in Volpe v. City of Lexington, 281 Va. 630, 708 S.E.2d 824(2011):列克星敦市拥有并经营一个向公众开放的河边公园.  房屋附近有一座水坝，死者在水坝附近淹死.  伦敦金融城负有责任，因为游泳者是“受邀者”，而且伦敦金融城有责任警告大坝附近水面下特别危险的水力力量所构成的危险, which was known to the City but not apparent from common observation. 

Negligence Liability

If the property damage, injury, 或者死亡发生在被指控的犯罪者以外的人拥有的洼地的水域, the negligence legal doctrine applies.  当业主未能行使合理注意时，就会产生过失责任. For example, in City of Petersburg v. Applegarth's Adm'R, 69 Va. 321 (1877), 码头的所有人有责任允许物体以某种方式从码头延伸出去，对经过的船只造成灾难性的损害. 

Federal Admiralty and Maritime Law

Waterfront property owners may still face liability under federal law, even if absolved of liability under Virginia state law.  To establish federal jurisdiction, two conditions must be met: (1) the incident must occur in navigable waters, and (2) there must be a connection between the incident and maritime activity.  “通航水域”的定义包括潮汐水域和用于州际贸易的水域.  If both parts of this test are satisfied, 根据联邦民法，物主可能对原告所遭受的伤害或损害承担责任. 

了解与滨水物业有关的民事责任对物业业主至关重要.  通过理解弗吉尼亚州法和联邦海商法之间的相互作用, 业主可以更好地评估他们对财产损失的潜在责任, injuries, or death occurring on or near their waterfront properties.  建议咨询精通滨水财产法的法律专业人士，以获得针对具体情况的指导.

Bryan Peeples is a Pender & 科沃德律师，专注于海事和河岸法以及工人赔偿事务.