Supreme Court case shakes Idaho ski areas by overturning decades of liability precedent

[TyWebb]

Interesting article and what could be have big ramifications in the industry

Supreme Court case shakes Idaho ski areas by overturning decades of liability precedent • Idaho Capital Sun

A recent Idaho Supreme Court ruling could have huge implications for skiing in Idaho by driving up ski areas’ liability insurance costs.

idahocapitalsun.com

It was clear and shady on a late-November afternoon in 2019, as a 65-year-old, 210-pound skier from Boise made his way down Lower River Run at Sun Valley, skiing with “poor control” on the moderately crowded groomed run, according to court records.

He skied across the backs of another skier’s skis and yelled, then fell and crashed head-first into a tall, yellow-padded snowmaking tower gun in the middle of the run. What happened next would not only bring tragedy to the skier’s family — it would also upend decades of court precedent on ski area liability in Idaho and potentially threaten the viability of the ski industry across the state.

The skier, Stewart Milus, a doctor from Boise, died from his injuries. His widow sued Sun Valley Resort. While a lower court granted summary judgment in favor of the ski resort based on Idaho’s 1979 Ski Area Liability Act, the Idaho Supreme Court in December 2023 reversed the lower court and said a jury should weigh whether the ski resort was at least partially to blame, regardless of the skier’s actions.

The court is set to hear arguments in February on possibly reconsidering its unanimous ruling. But if the decision stands, it could have huge implications for skiing in Idaho, driving up ski areas’ liability insurance costs and potentially putting the state’s small, mom-and-pop ski hills out of business.

 

[jimmywilson69]

so dumbass skied out of control, wrecked and died and might win a law suit?

This country is fucked in so many ways...

 

[KustyTheKlown]

i wont go back to idaho. only place i ever got in any trouble relating to weed and it was so fucking stupid and i'd rather spend my time and money elsewhere

 

[urungus]

Precedent doesn’t matter anymore

 

[gittist]

Precedent doesn’t matter anymore

Whenever I think of 'precedent' I think of lemmings going off of a cliff...

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

recognizing that precedent probably exists for a reason is not the same thing as blindly following it.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Precedent doesn’t matter anymore

It never really did, it was merely instructive.

If precedent was unwavering schools would still be segregated & other negative consequences would forever ensure.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

I will say Sun Valley is really bad about snow guns in the middle of ski runs. Yes, skiers should avoid them, but the system would never be built the way it was today.

 

[BenedictGomez]

The most interesting thing I took from that article is the fact that insurance rates were the reason tons of little Mom & Pop ski resorts went LSA in the 1980s. I was aware of that dynamic, but being young just assumed it was a tough business model, getting outcompeted by giants, changing skier tastes for "bigger & better" etc....