Relief from liability form?

[bongo1962]

Good day fellow TN'ers. I was wondering if anyone might have a form or, a link to a form that would allow me to relieve a property owner or munincipality from any liability? I have run into a liability issue in a town that offers some great history and many city owned sites. Thanks for any help, Lee (BONGO)

 

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[Jeff In North Georgia]

Here is a link to the one I made up for our club:

http://www.underdirt.com/NEW_SMTH/html/memberaccess.html
http://www.underdirt.com/SMTH/Permission_Slip.doc

Hope this helps.

Jeff

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Or just get liability insurance, available from any insurance company (State Farm, etc...) and you ask them to issue you a certificate/evidence of liability form. Pretty standard practice. But what is uncommon, is a city requesting such a form for metal detecting? I'm assuming this is some sort of behind-fences construction site or something? (ie: not just vacant lots or parks or whatever)

 

[bongo1962]

Thanks Jeff, That is a great start. I will use it to draft a more specific permission. Bongo

 

[bongo1962]

Tom, the city owns much property, and some is clearly commercial use. I have no interest in those sites, but having asked for a blanket permission, they are reluctant to issue permission. I thought about asking for site specific permissions, but after a few days on the assessors site, I realized that there are literally hun dreds of opportunities. I really would like to get a permission that allows me to pick and choose freely.Bongo

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Bongo1962, thanks for the clarification. Then I assume you're just talking about things like vacant lots, parking strips, roadside eavesments and such? If so, I would not approach it as a "permission" issue with your city. Instead, if you feel the need to ask, approach it like this: "Is there anything that prohibits, or addresses, hobbyist metal detectors in city codes?" Then, odds are there is nothing that addresses it. If city codes/rules are silent on the issue, then ..... as long as you're not hopping a fence, or making a mess, I don't see the problem with simply going. The reason I suggest this, is that the minute you walk into any city hall asking for permission (as if it was even needed), you only allow some desk-bound bureaucrat to dream up images of geeks with shovels. And put yourself in their position, even though they'd probably never have given it a second thought, but now that you ask them, the easy answer is "no", lest you turn around and sue the city or something silly.

 

[Montana Jim]

I requested permission from the county I live in to access their property, explained why, and blah blah blah.

The county attorneys drew up a contract that lasted for one year and they absolved themselves of any liabilties in conjunction wih my accessing the property. They did all the work!

 

[bongo1962]

Is there any chance of getting a scanned copy? That would be a gigantic leg up for me. Thanks MJ. Bongo

 

[Montana Jim]

Is there any chance of getting a scanned copy? That would be a gigantic leg up for me. Thanks MJ. Bongo

Maybe. I might have hard copies OR even the original electronic copy of my request... I'll warn you the chances are slim.

I'll look as soon as I can.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Montana Jim, what kind of county properties were you hunting? I mean, were they fenced or posted or something?

 

[Montana Jim]

Montana Jim, what kind of county properties were you hunting? I mean, were they fenced or posted or something?

Yes.

There was a gigantic copper smelting plant here that was closed long ago - but - closed to everyone because of the ground contamination. The property is still privately owned while undergoing cleanup and completely shut off to the public. Period.

The county however took control of what was the "housing area", a neighborhood, that was where all the "executives" lived that ran the plant. The structures are all long gone (1970s) but some foundations, all the streets, sidewalks and other features remain. It covered 30 acres and seemed like a great place to hunt.

After coordinating with the county planning commission through e-mail, they took the ball and ran with it. A few weeks later I was contacted by them again and told to go to the county attorneys office, sign the contract, and have fun. They basically reworded my original request into some legalese and gave me a one year permission slip with an outlined map of the county property. The permission was specifically for my partner and I by name and nobody else.

Several months later the area was opened anyway due to some public bike paths being put in but we were still allowed to dig and detect there. Nobody else could, and I have never seen anyone else trying to. The efforts yielded a small amount of awesome finds, but mostly trash.

 

[bongo1962]

MJ, that is a fantastic story. I am not interested in sneaking around. This city has liability problems up the wazoo, and I would like to set a solid example of cooperation rather than litigation. I do not agree with the hunt first then ask if you get caught mentality. My first attempt at gaining permission was met only with the liability issue. As you can tell I am not very gifted with coherent thought or English composition, and that is why I am seeking out a document already in existence for a guideline. Bongo