Trespassing to collect data-civil cause of action.

ORIGINAL
Senate
File No
.
SF0080

ENROLLED ACT NO. 82,

SENATE

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

AN ACT relating to trade and commerce; providing a civil cause of action for trespassing to unlawfully collect resource data and unlawfully collecting resource data; limiting the use of unlawfully collected data; providing definitions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 40
‑
26
‑
101 is created to read:

CHAPTER 2
7
trespass
to
unlawful
ly
collect
resource data

40
‑
2
7
‑
101
.

Trespass

to unlawfully collect resource data
; unlawful collection of resource data
.

(a)

A person commits a civil trespass to unlawfully collect resource data if he:

(
i
)

Enters onto open land for the purpose of collecting resource data; and

(ii)

Does not have:

(A)

An ownership interest in the real property or s
tatutory, contractual or other legal
authorization to enter or access
the land to collect resource data; or

(B)

Written
or verbal

permission
of the owner, lessee or agent of the owner to enter or access
the land to collect
the specified
resource data
.

(b)

A person commits a civil trespass of unlawfully collecting resource data if he enters onto private open land and collects resource data without:

(
i
)

An ownership interest in the real property or, statutory, contractual or other legal authorization to enter the private land to collect the specified resource data; or

(ii)

Written or verbal permission of the owner, lessee or agent of the owner to enter the land to collect the specified resource data.

(
c
)

A person who
trespasses to unlawfully collect resource data or a person who unlawfully collects resource data under this section shall be liable
in
a civil action by the owner or lessee of the land for all
consequential and economic
damages
proximately caused by the trespass
.
In
a civil action brought under this section, in addition to damages,
a successful
claimant

shall
be awarded
litigation c
osts
. For purposes of this subsection, "litigation costs" shall include
, but is not limited to,
court costs, expert witness fees, other witness fees, costs associated with depositions and discovery, r
easonable attorney fees
and

the reasonably necessary cost
s
of identifying the
trespasser
, of obtaining effective service of process on the
trespasser
and of successfully effecting
the
collection of
any ju
dgment against the trespasser.

(d)

Resource data unlawfully collected under this section is not admissible in evidence in any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding, other than a civil action for trespassing under this section or a criminal prosecution for trespassing under W.S. 6
‑
3
‑
414.

(
e
)

R
esource data
unlawfully collected
under
this section is
not
admissible in evidence in any civil, criminal or administrative proceeding, other than a
civil action
for
trespassing
under this section
or a criminal prosecution for trespass.

(f)

Resource data unlawfully collected under this section in the possession of any governmental entity as defined by W.S. 1
‑
39
‑
103(
a)(
i
) shall be expunged by the entity from all files and data bases, and it shall not be considered in determining any agency action.

Section
3
.

This
act is effective July 1,
2015
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.

Chief Clerk

1