In a recent New York Supreme Court decision, Walter C. Bedder v. Windham Mountain Partners, LLC,1 the court addressed whether a negligence suit would lie against defendants Windham Ski Resort and its owner and operator for injuries suffered by a plaintiff snowboarder who, while swerving to avoid hitting a child on a trail, claimed that his snowboard struck an object he believed to be a stump concealed by snow. The issues in this case and the court’s treatment of statutory and case law provide a valuable guide to the risks and liabilities that even a wary snowboarder unknowingly assumes upon use of ski resorts’ slopes and trails. This article concludes that if such sport participants seek knowledge of the snow and trail conditions beforehand, fewer accidents may result with greater accountability on the part of the resort operators.

In Windham, the resort successfully moved for summary judgment principally arguing that the injured snowboarder “assumed the risk of injury” when he voluntarily engaged in snowboarding. On Feb. 19, 2007, plaintiff was snowboarding down a new trail at approximately 25 mph when he hit what he thought was a tree stump in an avoidance maneuver when a child cut in front of him. The snowboarder was “propelled five or six feet in the air. He landed on a log just off the trail and his body continued to tumble about fifteen feet down the hill towards the woods. The accident allegedly resulted in physical injuries, which included injuries to his liver.”

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]