Legal Agreement and Bee Yards

[Cacklewack]

All,

Do any of you keep bees in a yard that requires a legal agreement. I ask this because this coming year I'll be keeping hives at a few business in the Portland area and if the question is brought up I want to have a solid answer. A hive full of stinging bees can be unsettling for the typical civilian, and of course there's the unlikely event that I get blamed for a daft individual getting stung. I just want to cover my bases.

Also, do any of you have liability insurance of any sort for your businesses in regard to damage/injury/death caused by the bees? My cousin who is a business owner brought it up as a concern.

Let me know if you have experience or ideas!

Thanks,

Matt

[riverrat]

I personally dont use written legal agreements for bee yards. Unless you are a lawyer it would be costly to have them drawn up where they would hold water in court. I dont put my bees where there is public access to the hives. All my out yards are on gentlemens agreements with the land owners If it cant be that way then I put them somewhere else.

[Tom G. Laury]

As long as you are conducting your affairs in a normal accepted manner liability for accidents is limited. Placing bees in urban settings probably doesn't fit this description ( to anyone but a beekeeper ). So you should use diligence to reduce exposure, like providing water or deflecting flight. That may help limit your personal liability.

I have 2mill. liability coverage for bee business, reasonably priced and it always reassures property owners when my agent faxes them a binder.

['Light']

Interesting enough there is a Lawyer who has Bees at heart...and is all about Personal Injury cases. In his portfolio it is stated .."He spent two years in rural Paraguay working as a beekeeper, teaching villagers how to capture and raise wild bees for honey production".

Now at least that offers some advice from one who understands, as well as is local...

Personal Injury Lawyer in Portland, Oregon
http://www.portlandlawyer.com/about-the-firm.php

May be best also to read up on this first - may be a Year todate - August 24 2007 since, but nothing changes!

Beekeeper's 'offensive' activity decried
SOUTH PORTLAND — First a lot of clucking over chickens, now a buzz over some bees. .........
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=129446

Finally.....ongoing subject to date "Bees V Crops"
Insurance for Beekeepers
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/beekeeping.html#insurance
Report in hand
http://hometown.aol.com/beetools/insure.htm