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Thomas Lukken v. Korby L. Fleischer, et al.,. IA Liability Waiver
Plaintiff was injured in a zip line incident at Mt. Crescent Ski Area, after an employee failed to reset the braking mechanism, causing plaintiff to crash into a pole at the end of the line. He sued the manufacturer of the zip line and the ski resort where it was in use. The district court dismissed the claims, and plaintiff appealed. The appeal was ultimately heard by the Iowa Supreme Court.
The high court first affirmed the judgment against the manufacturer, which it analyzed as a negligence claim. The braking mechanism had been replaced by one from a different manufacturer, and the court held that the manufacturer thus no longer owed a duty.
The district court had dismissed the case against the ski resort on the basis of a waiver the plaintiff had signed. Here, the plaintiff's appeal was more successful. For such a contract to be enforceable, it "must contain 'clear and unequivocal language' notifying a casual reader that by signing, she agrees to waive all claims for future acts or omissions of negligence."
The plaintiff argued that the agreement in this case was contrary to public policy. The high court agreed, since the contract purported to disclaim liability for gross negligence. While the contract might be valid for ordinary negligence, the court remanded the case for a determination of whether there was "willful, wanton, or reckless conduct," for which the contract could not be valid.
No. 20-0343 (Iowa June 30, 2021).
Please see the original opinion for the court's exact language.
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Richard P. Clem is an attorney and continuing legal education (CLE) provider in Minnesota. He has been in private practice in the Twin Cities for 25 years. He has a J.D., cum laude, from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul and a B.A. in History from the University of Minnesota. His reported cases include: Asociacion Nacional de Pescadores a Pequena Escala o Artesanales de Colombia v. Dow Quimica de Colombia, 988 F.2d 559, rehearing denied, 5 F.3d 530 (5th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1041 (1994); LaMott v. Apple Valley Health Care Center, 465 N.W.2d 585 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991); Abo el Ela v. State, 468 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991).
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