§520-2  Definitions.  As used in this
chapter:



"Charge" means the admission price or
fee asked in return for invitation or permission to enter or go upon the land.



"House guest" means any person
specifically invited by the owner or a member of the owner's household to visit
at the owner's home whether for dinner, or to a party, for conversation or any
other similar purposes including for recreation, and includes playmates of the
owner's minor children.



"Land" means land, roads, water,
watercourses, private ways and buildings, structures, and machinery or
equipment when attached to realty, other than lands owned by the government.



"Owner" means the possessor of a fee
interest, a tenant, lessee, occupant, or person in control of the premises.



"Recreational purpose" includes but
is not limited to any of the following, or any combination thereof:  hunting,
fishing, swimming, boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, pleasure driving,
nature study, water skiing, winter sports, and viewing or enjoying historical,
archaeological, scenic, or scientific sites.



"Recreational user" means any person
who is on or about the premises that the owner of land either directly or
indirectly invites or permits, without charge, entry onto the property for
recreational purposes. [L 1969, c 186, §2; gen ch 1985; am L 1997, c 272, §1]



 



Law Journals and Reviews



 



  The Hawai`i Recreational Use Statute:  A Practical Guide to
Landowner Liability.  22 UH L. Rev. 237.



 



Case Notes



 



  Plaintiff who suffered personal injuries while plaintiff was
using a military recreational facility was not "charged" an
"admission price or fee ... in return for ... permission to enter or go
upon the [government's] land".  181 F.3d 1064.



  Where plaintiff who was engaged in activity of boating argued
that plaintiff was not engaging in a recreational activity while taking the
sailing course, although plaintiff may have had professional as well as
personal reasons for taking the course, plaintiff's alleged professional
motivation did not convert plaintiff into a nonrecreational user; plaintiff's
subjective intent was, in the situation, immaterial. 181 F.3d 1064.



  No requirement that landowner open property to every person
in the public in order to obtain protection under statute; defendant's duty to
recreational user of property arose where defendant undertook and posted
lifeguards at beach.  691 F. Supp. 256.



  Where plaintiff alleged that the United States navy received
a financial benefit from the Pearl Harbor bike path when its members commuted
by bicycle on the bike path, reducing the need for parking spaces at Pearl
Harbor naval station, and that the city of Honolulu's bicycle registration fee
constituted a "charge" under Hawaii recreational use statute (HRUS),
the United States did not charge plaintiff to enter the bike path and the
"charge" exception to HRUS was not applicable.  180 F. Supp. 2d 1132.