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CITY OF SAN ANTONIO v. VASQUEZ
340 S.W.3d 844 (2011)
CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, Appellant,
v.
Arnold and Janie VASQUEZ, Mark Unger, Kim and Robert Frame, Appellees.
No. 04-10-00575-CV.
Court of Appeals of Texas, San Antonio.
March 16, 2011.
Sitting: CATHERINE STONE, Chief Justice, KAREN ANGELINI, Justice, SANDEE BRYAN MARION, Justice.
OPINIONOpinion by: SANDEE BRYAN MARION, Justice. This is an accelerated appeal from the trial court's denial of the City of San Antonio's plea to the jurisdiction. We reverse the trial court's order and render a dismissal
of appellees' claims against the City. DISCUSSIONArnold Vasquez, Mark Unger, and Kim Frame were all injured, on different dates, while riding their bicycles on a bridge along the Mission Trails Phase 1 Bicycle Path.1 Arnold and his wife, Mark, and Kim and her husband all filed suit against multiple defendants, including the City of San Antonio. The plaintiffs, who are all appellees in this appeal, alleged the City possessed the property in question and either owned, controlled, occupied, or maintained the premises located at Mission Trails Phase 1 Bicycle Path as a public bike path. The plaintiffs alleged the City owed a duty to provide safe surroundings to those people invited to the premises to conduct business; the City breached this duty by failing to warn or make the dangerous condition safe for invited persons; and the City breached its duty to inspect the premises to discover defects on the bridge, along with construction defects caused by contractors and subcontractors. The City filed its plea to the jurisdiction arguing it was entitled to the protections provided by the Recreational Use Statute. The trial court denied the plea and this appeal ensued. ANALYSISUnder the Recreational Use Statute, if the City "gives permission to another to enter the premises for recreation," the City "does not: (1) assure that the premises are safe for that purpose; (2) owe to the person to whom permission is granted a greater degree of care than is owed to a trespasser on the premises; or (3) assume responsibility or incur liability for any injury to any individual or property caused by any act of the person to whom permission is granted." TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 75.002(c) (West Supp.2010). The statute defines "premises" to include "land, roads, water, watercourse, private ways, and buildings, structures, machinery, and equipment attached to or located on the land, road, water, watercourse, or private way." Id. § 75.001(2). "Recreation" is defined to include "an activity such as . . . bicycling." Id. § 75.001(3)(M). However, under subsection (c), the statute "shall not limit the liability of an owner, lessee, or occupant of real property who has been grossly negligent or has acted with malicious intent or in bad faith." Id. § 75.002(d).
1. The Mission Trail stretches nine miles along the San Antonio River, with The Alamo being the northernmost of the missions. Visitors may drive the entire San Antonio Mission Trail or travel along a hike-and-bike trail.
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