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When an alligator killed a young boy at Walt Disney World recently, the news sparked widespread discussion of responsibility.
As Floridians know, alligators can be found in ditches, lakes, streams and even swimming in the Gulf. But visitors may not know that alligators are lurking everywhere in Florida.
If you're a property owner in Florida, you may be wondering if you're liable for an alligator attack. Many condos, office buildings and shopping centers have retention ponds for stormwater or they abut an estuary or stream that is likely home to alligators.
Amanda Barritt, a real estate attorney with Henderson Franklin in Fort Myers, says Florida landowners are not liable for alligator attacks, but she says posting warning signs might still be a good idea.
In legal terms, the concept is called “ferae naturae” or “wild animals.” Well-established Florida case law indicates property owners don't have a duty to guard people from wild animal attacks.
Barritt says Florida courts have held that landowners aren't liable unless they have possessed, harbored or introduced a non-native animal to the property. Since alligators are indigenous to Florida, property owners including homeowners associations don't have a duty to protect people from the reptiles.
Still, for extra liability protection, Barritt says it might be a good idea to post warning signs anyway. “The cost of putting a sign up is not much compared to having to fight it,” she says.
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