Paulus v. Holimont, Inc.

100 F. Supp. 3d 292, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54044, 2015 WL 1876177
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedApril 24, 2015
DocketNo. 1:12-CV-00055 EAW
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 100 F. Supp. 3d 292 (Paulus v. Holimont, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Paulus v. Holimont, Inc., 100 F. Supp. 3d 292, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54044, 2015 WL 1876177 (W.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Éwald Paulus (“Plaintiff’) injured himself in a ski accident at the Holi-mont Ski Area (“Holimont”), located in Ellieottville, New York, which is owned by Defendant Holimont, Inc. (“Defendant”). Pending before the Court is Defendant’s motion filed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 seeking summary judgment. (Dkt. 23).

Many aspects of the case are not in dispute — the accident occurred on January 23, 2009; Plaintiff was a self-described “accomplished” skier who skied since the age of 5 on various terrain and in different conditions throughout the world; and the accident occurred on the lower portion of a trail at Holimont named “Corkscrew” that is rated “more difficult” with a blue square. Similarly, there does not appear to be any dispute that Plaintiff fell when he encountered more difficult terrain upon entering the Corkscrew trail from another trail. However, it is hotly contested whether the terrain that Plaintiff encountered was of the type that is inherent in downhill skiing, or rather whether the con[295]*295ditions were unique and created a dangerous condition over and above the usual dangers that are inherent in the sport.

Because the Court cannot determine as a matter of law that the, terrain on the Corkscrew trail was of the type inherent in the sport, and because that issue is material to Defendant’s argument that Plaintiff is barred from recovery in this case by the doctrine of assumption of the risk, the Court denies Defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The issues in this case, including Defendant’s negligence and Plaintiffs assumption of the risk, will need to be resolved by a jury at trial.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On January 23, 2009, Plaintiff traveled by bus from his home in Ohio to Holimont for “a day of skiing” with the Edelweiss Ski Club. (Dkt. 26-2 at 52; Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 2). At that time, Plaintiff was 68 years old, and he had been skiing since the age of 5. (Dkt. 25 at ¶ 1; Dkt. 26-1 at 36; Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 1). Plaintiff claims he had participated in various ski races throughout the years, and he had skied on different mountains throughout the world involving varying terrain, including ice and “moguls.” (Dkt. 25 at ¶¶ 2-4; Dkt. 26-1 at 37-45; Dkt. 26-2 at 149 ¶ 8). “Moguls” are mounds of snow that come in different shapes and sizes. (Dkt. 25 at ¶ 12; Dkt. 29-1 at 1). Plaintiff used racing skis and boots, and he admitted that he liked to ski fast. (Dkt. 25 at ¶ 10; Dkt. 26-1 at 50-51, 56). Plaintiff estimates he was traveling twenty miles per hour at the time of the accident. (Dkt. 26-1 at 89).

Plaintiff claims that the date of the accident represented only his second trip to Holimont, having skied at the mountain on one prior occasion during the previous year’s ski season. (Dkt. 26-1 at 49; Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 2). Plaintiff denies having any knowledge of moguls existing on the Corkscrew trail based upon his prior trip to Holimont. (Dkt. 26-1 at 67-69; Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 3).

Plaintiffs accident occurred on January 23, 2009, during his first run of the day. (Dkt. 26-1 at 49, 71). Plaintiff alleges that he rode to the top of the mountain that morning on the “Expo” chair lift, which runs directly over the Corkscrew trail where the accident occurred. (Id. at 66-67). However, Plaintiff denies seeing the difficult terrain on the Corkscrew trail when he was on the chair lift. (Dkt. 26-1 at 82-83; Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 4).

After disembarking from the “Expo” chair lift, Plaintiff claims he skied to his right down another trail. (Dkt. 26-1 at 75-76). He was skiing -with George Adam, who has ahead of Plaintiff, and Josef Krist, who skied behind him. (Dkt. 29-7 at 4-5). They cut over to the Corkscrew trail, in order to ski back to the base of the Expo chair lift. (Dkt. 26-1 at 76-77).

Plaintiff acknowledges that a blaze orange caution sign was placed directly at the top of the portion of the Corkscrew trail where Plaintiff was injured, but Plaintiff does not believe he observed this sign as he cut over to the Corkscrew trail from another trail. (Dkt. 25 at ¶7; Dkt. 26-1 at 80, 83; Dkt. 29-1 at 2). Plaintiff believes that he may have skied onto the Corkscrew trail below the caution sign. (Dkt. 26-1 at 95; Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 2).

Mr. Adam, who was skiing ahead of Plaintiff, testified that he immediately started to fall upon entering the Corkscrew trail. (Dkt. 29-9 at 4). At his deposition, Mr. Adam described the terrain as follows: “Well, it looked — it looked like almost like a mogul, but it was sort of a deeper ditch(Id. at 5). Mr. Adam continued: “they were like ditches going across the hill and not really shaped as a mogul.” (Id. at 6). Mr. Adam further testified that the terrain on Corkscrew [296]*296“was not exactly moguls” but rather “real deep ditches.” (Dkt. 26-2 at 37).

Plaintiff described the terrain on the Corkscrew trail at his deposition as follows:

Q And then once you made that right turn to come under the chair lift, ■ what were the conditions like?
A What I can — I got into it, all of a sudden there was this — to me it sounded — it’s like compressions (sic) I call ’em. It’s all this — where all these waves coming in.
Q Did they look like moguls to you?
A Well, moguls don’t look that big to me. Moguls just is something smaller, where you turn on a mogul. It’s where you can ski around it. This look more like compression where it’s in and out again.

(Dkt. 26-1 at 78). Plaintiff denied that the “compressions” were consistent in shape and size. (Id. at 79).

In an affidavit submitted in opposition to Defendant’s summary judgment motion, Plaintiff stated that the Corkscrew trail' contained “a series of deep depressions” unlike anything that Plaintiff had skied previously. (Dkt. 29-5 at ¶ 6).

Mr. Krist, who was behind both Plaintiff and Mr. Adam, testified that he “almost fell, too,” but he was able to stop his progression. (Dkt. 29-7 at 10). Although describing the terrain on the Corkscrew trail as “moguls”, Mr. Krist testified that the terrain was “unusual” and the moguls were particularly deep and closer together than a typical mogul field. (Id. at 10-12). Mr. Krist testified that he did observe the orange caution sign (id. at 6), and he acknowledged that the Corkscrew trail and its mogul field were observable from the Expo chair lift (id. at 7).

Other witnesses to the condition of the Corkscrew trail where Plaintiff fell described the terrain as not consisting of moguls, but rather “depressions” (Dkt. 26-2 at 59 (Stefan Paulus, Plaintiffs son’s testimony)); and looking “more like humps than moguls” and not being “normal moguls” but rather appearing “unnatural” (Id. at 106 (Robert Gutwein)).

Defendant contends that the terrain on the portion of Corkscrew where Plaintiff fell consisted of man-made moguls that were created by the resort at the request of members and guests (Dkt. 23-2; Dkt. 26-2 at 128-29). Defendant contends that the moguls were evenly spaced, and characterized the terrain as consisting of “baby bumps” “beginning bumps” and “learning bumps.” (Dkt. 23-2; Dkt. 26-2 at 124-27).

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100 F. Supp. 3d 292, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54044, 2015 WL 1876177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paulus-v-holimont-inc-nywd-2015.