(L-R)Katryna L. Kristoferson and David Paul Horowitz of the Law Offices of David Paul Horowitz. Courtesy photos (L-R)Katryna L. Kristoferson and David Paul Horowitz of the Law Offices of David Paul Horowitz. Courtesy photos

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Practical New York Practice™

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Introduction

Many of us recall learning about the assumption of risk doctrine in law school, while others learned about it in practice. Whether in New York state or federal courts applying New York law, the doctrine today is limited to "athletic and recreational activities," and that limitation, as Judge Benjamin Cardozo explained in Murphy v. Steeplechase Amusement, 250 NY 479, 482-483 (1929), "is based on the premise that 'one who takes part in … a sport accepts the dangers that inhere in it so far as they are obvious and necessary.'"