Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

liable? not necessarily? can you be sued? of course!

It's impossible to tell, just from what little information is in your question, whether your locked fence would be adequate to protect you from liability in a lawsuit. A landowner's obligation in California, generally speaking, is to protect anyone (trespasser or not)from known dangerous conditions on the landowner's property that are not "open and obvious." You'd think a swimming pool WOULD be an open and obvious danger, but what about at night? Is it lit up at all times? What about the surrounding areas? How deep is the pool? How high is your fence, and how sturdy your lock? All these are factors that a judge or jury would look at in assessing whether you had met a reasonable standard of care toward people on your land.If you're at all concerned (and it sounds like you are, or else you wouldn't have posted the question), you should contact an attorney directly, and probably have him or her come out and inspect the property in person. Sorry I can't give you a definite "yes or no" answer, but in cases of property-owner liability, there simply isn't any such "one size fits all" answer.

The real answer is no.

How about a straight answer to a simple question. A swimming pool with a fence around it is not a dangerous condition. And is some idiot jumps the fence and drowns you are not going to be liable. Yes, there are idiot lawyers that will file lawsuits claiming that �you had not met a reasonable standard of care� but let me tell you something. I make my living defending such lawsuits and these jokers always lose. Even if such a lawsuit were filed, your homeowners insurance covers this completely. Do not hire a lawyer to come out and inspect your pool. That is a waste of time and money. Just keep the gate locked, keep everything in good repair and enjoy your pool.