Sport Waiver Risk Fitness Law

By
Alexander “Sandie” Pendleton
Thanks to Sandie Pendleton for this up-to-the-minute look at Wisconsin waiver law. This article first appeared at Sandie Pendleton’s sports-law related website www.releaselaw.com.
On February 10, 2011, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held enforceable a waiver signed by two subsequently-injured participants at an auto race.
The case, Beer v. La Crosse County Agricultural Society, arose out of a race held at the La Crosse County fairgrounds. Both plaintiffs signed a waiver form upon their arrival at the track, so as to be able to participate in a race and/or …

By Doyice Cotten
A 2010 court ruling in Pennsylvania (Taylor v. L.A. Fitness International, 2010 Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. LEXIS 252) illustrated a difference in the effectiveness of waivers depending upon who the relying party is. The plaintiff was injured while under the care of a personal trainer provided by L.A. Fitness. She alleged that the trainer taught her an improper exercise, failed to properly assist or sport her, and that his negligence caused her shoulder injury.
Ms. Taylor had signed a waiver contained in her membership agreement as well as a …

By Doyice Cotten
Several court rulings as well as a new statute have affected the parental waiver landscape recently. The purpose of this two-part article is to bring you up-to-date on changes in the law. Three states are discussed below and Alabama, Texas, and Pennsylvania will be covered next week. Parental waiver law for all states is covered in depth in Waivers & Releases of Liability, 7th ed.
Iowa
The Iowa Supreme Court has recently clarified parental waiver law in Iowa (Galloway v. State of Iowa, No. 08-0776, Nov. 5, 2010). Fourteen year …

Alexander “Sandie” Pendleton
Sports, Fitness & Recreational Team Leader
Kohner, Mann & Kailas, S.C.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Christopher McDougall’s bestselling book Born to Run, and the extensive discussion therein regarding the reported benefits of barefoot running, have helped to ignite a new exercise trend (craze?). Fitness center owners are being asked if members can exercise barefoot, or are just seeing members working out barefoot in areas of the facility where, until recently, no one wanted to do so. What to do? Should your facility prohibit barefoot weight lifting? What about barefoot running on treadmills? (for …

Doyice Cotten
The Colorado Supreme Court recently addressed the question of whether a waiver of liability would protect a product manufacturer against a strict products liability claim (Boles v. Sun Ergoline, Inc., 2010 Colo. LEXIS 73). The case involved a lady who was injured while in a tanning booth. The district court had enforced the waiver as if the claim were  one for damages alleging simple negligence.
Savanah Boles brought suit against Sun Ergoline, Inc., asserting a strict products liability claim for personal injury. Sun Ergoline moved for summary judgment, countering that …