For Those who camp at Friendship Take Heed!

[Robin Henderson]

My wife and I are long time members of the NMLRA and have been regular campers in the association's Frontier Heritage Campground. Yesterday we received the new campsite use agreement. It appears to be a multipage document obviously prepare by an attorney. I was absolutely stunned when I read it. You are required to fill out your info, initial a "Release of Liability" and then sign and date. If you don't then you will not get "permission to occupy" your campsite. I think you may find yourself as shocked as we were when you read it. I have also discovered that these changes were done without the knowledge of the several of the BODs.

As for us, we are not in agreement and refuse to sign. Therefore, we will not camp and the NMLRA will not be getting our up-front nonrefundable fees for the spring and fall shoot of approximately $800. I hope others will consider doing the same. You can also express your displeasure by emailing the BOD at [email protected].

 

[64Springer]

Illegal aliens will be occupying your camp sites.

But only until more 400 dollar a night hotel rooms become available.

Ping-Pong anyone?

 

[smo]

Thanks for the info

I assume that applies too all camp grounds?

 

[Robin Henderson]

Yep.

 

[smo]

As if attendance wasn’t low enough..

 

[Robin Henderson]

Mike Yazel says it's in the best interest of Association. So just initial, sign, and move on...

 

[TDM]

Man, that is really a shame and a disappointment.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

My good buddy Wayne Estes observes " There are too many damned Yankees running that place"

 

[brushblind]

Doesn't sound that unreasonable, the days of a hand shake and a verbal agreement have been gone for a few decades. Your pretty much on your own nowadays if your hurt in an accident.

 

[springfield art]

Illegal aliens will be occupying your camp sites.

But only until more 400 dollar a night hotel rooms become available.

Ping-Pong anyone?

The thousands of "migrants" in NY City are complaining about the free housing they're getting. The Mayor there is begging the government to pay for them; BTW, Mayor, that's YOUR party that's in charge of flooding the country with jobless, penniless crowds that have no connections here.

 

[2 shots]

does not sound like that big a deal.

 

[Robin Henderson]

Did you get the agreement or just reading what's online?

 

[1950DAVE]

There was the Stone Age, the bronze, the iron, the steam, the atomic ages. We now are in the age of litigation. Much to our dislike but it is what it is. Lawyers rule.

 

[necchi]

As for us, we are not in agreement and refuse to sign. Therefore, we will not camp and the NMLRA will not be getting our up-front nonrefundable fees,,,

I said that 20yrs ago,, I'm NOT an NMLRA fan.
And I have lived happily with that decision for all these years,

 

[Don Steele]

I understand Robin is unhappy about something he found in the document, but he didn't go into detail. If "release of liability" is the issue, I have to say I'm fine with that. I've camped around the country and attended a lot of rallies with different groups. Liability releases have been pretty standard even though ( or so I've been told...) most of them are so poorly written that they have lttle or no standing in court. As 1950Dave points out, litigation and "waiting for a settlement" has become a way of life for some people. I'd hate to see some Gomer come to Friendship and decide he sees a fat settlement coming if he gets a lawyer off "WhoCanISue.com" and the Association finds itself spending thousands of dollars in court cases. At that point, folks will be coming on here demanding to know why the Association didn't protect itself better. Perhaps someone who has a copy of this document will post it, or provide a link.

 

[ETipp]

I understand Robin is unhappy about something he found in the document, but he didn't go into detail. If "release of liability" is the issue, I have to say I'm fine with that. I've camped around the country and attended a lot of rallies with different groups. Liability releases have been pretty standard even though ( or so I've been told...) most of them are so poorly written that they have lttle or no standing in court. As 1950Dave points out, litigation and "waiting for a settlement" has become a way of life for some people. I'd hate to see some Gomer come to Friendship and decide he sees a fat settlement coming if he gets a lawyer off "WhoCanISue.com" and the Association finds itself spending thousands of dollars in court cases. At that point, folks will be coming on here demanding to know why the Association didn't protect itself better. Perhaps someone who has a copy of this document will post it, or provide a link.

I understand where Robin is coming from on this. Its sad to see what our country has turned into.

I have not seen the agreement he posted about. However, One has to wonder about a possible connection between the agreement and perhaps some insurance company(s). Not saying that is the case here, however, its no secret that insurance companies dictate much of the decision making, as well as restrictions, on most things now days. And why would that be? Lawsuits!

In short...........blood sucking attorneys.

Personally, I would not let that change my decision on participating in the event. And I certainly would not lose $800.00 dollars over it.

Also, it would behoove us to remember that there are many gun grabbers out there that wants to see any form of firearms confiscated. IMO, by not attending the event would reduce participation. We need more participation in shooting sports now more then ever. My thoughts are, don't give them what they want.

 

[billraby]

That release of liability is there because there are many people whose entirely source of income is from suing everyone they come into contact with. I used to know one piece of trash would sue over 100 people per year.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

$800.00?!!!!! For WHAT?!

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Doesn't sound that unreasonable, the days of a hand shake and a verbal agreement have been gone for a few decades. Your pretty much on your own nowadays if your hurt in an accident.

$800.00?!!!!! For WHAT?!

That's the kind of money you have to pay to camp down there for the two shoots. They priced me out of attendance a couple decades ago.

 

[BackDraft]

These were posted on a Facebook discussion page for the NMLRA
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“All, I would like to try to defuse the situation that has arisen over the changes to the NMLRA Campsite Agreement. I had informed the Board that we had directed Neil Fairweather, the Association attorney, to review several NMLRA contracts from a liability perspective. Our goal is to limit, as much as possible, the Association’s exposure to civil liability arising out of our activities and events. Seeing the discussion that has taken place on Facebook and after conversations with members of the Executive Committee and our attorney, we plan to make certain revisions to the Agreement to address members’ concerns. We will leave in place the critical legal language that must be there should any incident end up in litigation. I ask all of you to review these proposed changes and understand that we are acting for the best interest of the Association. If you still have concerns that are not addressed, we are hear to listen and to do our best to work this out. While none of us like to see contracts with this level of detail, these days we have to be as careful as possible to protect the Association and its members. Please work with us as we go forward as we try to get this right. Thank you for your consideration on this matter.

Mike Yazel President NMLRA”
——————————————————————————————————
From Neil Fairweather: “As legal counsel to the NMLRA, I had the primary role in revising the Campsite Agreement. I'm reading the comments, have already discussed these issues with the President, and I'm working to address some of the concerns. If I may, please let me explain what is going on here. First, these revisions were made as a part of a general review of Association policies and contracts with the goal of limiting potential liability to the NMLRA as much as possible. We all know the risk of getting sued these days. Protecting the NMLRA from liability is about protecting the NMLRA's future for all of us. The Association is blessed to have significant assets and, as legal counsel, it is my responsibility to protect these assets. Second, in revising the prior agreement, I looked at camping agreements from all over the country. There are consistent elements in all of these agreements. If you are going to operate an organization that sponsors events like the NMLRA, limitation of liability provisions must be in the contracts used for these events. If anyone has ever been on vacation and rented a jet ski, or gone scuba diving, you did not engage in any of these activities until you signed a release of liability. Finally, I appreciate the discussion about the terms of the Campsite Agreement. I'm listening and I can address concerns and, if need be, make revisions.