Francis v. State, 321 P.3d 1089

Sam Ives was killed by a black bear at an unimproved, dispersed campsite in Uintah National Forest near Timpooneke Road; his mother Rebecca Ives and stepfather Tim Mulvey camped there with other children.
Plaintiffs Kevan Francis and Rebecca Ives are Sam Ives’s biological parents; Mr. Francis was not at the campsite when Sam was killed.
Plaintiffs sued the State of Utah, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), and others for negligence related to bear management and warning duties.
District court initially dismissed under the Immunity Act’s permit exception and the plaintiffs appealed; this Court reversed on that point in Francis I (2010 UT 62).
On remand, the State raised two alternative arguments (duty and natural-condition immunity) that Francis I after did not resolve; district court granted summary judgment for the State.
This decision holds that the State could raise those arguments on remand, that the State owed a duty to Mulveys as next campers, and that the bear is not a natural condition for Immunity Act purposes

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did law-of-the-case preclude remand arguments for duty and natural-condition immunity?	Francis I foreclosed those arguments as not argued below.	Francis I did not preclude remand argument; the issues were not decided or raised below.	State could raise duty and natural-condition defenses on remand.
Whether the State owed a duty of care to the Mulveys	State undertook protective actions directed at the Campsite, creating a special relationship.	No special duty; general public duty applies.	Yes, the State owed a duty to the Mulveys as the next users of the Campsite.
Whether the natural-condition immunity applies to wildlife (bear)	Wildlife is not a natural condition on land; bears are not immune.	Wildlife can be a natural condition under the Immunity Act.	Bear is not a natural condition on land; natural-condition immunity does not apply.

Higgins v. Salt Lake County, 855 P.2d 231 (Utah 1993) (special-relationship concept when custodian knew or should have known danger to identifiable group)
Grappendorf v. Pleasant Grove City, 173 P.3d 166 (Utah 2007) (natural condition exception limited to topographical features on land)
Blackner v. Dep’t of Transportation, 48 P.3d 949 (Utah 2002) (avalanches as natural conditions on land; supports broad reading of exception)