Search Results for: “parental waiver”

Parental Waivers – Waivers Signed by Parents on Behalf of a Minor! Are they Enforceable in Your State?

By Doyice Cotten

At one point, maybe 25 years or so ago, it was not unusual to hear or read ——-, “Waivers are not worth the paper they are printed on!” That time has come and gone; now virtually every professional in sport, recreation, and fitness recognizes that in most states, waivers can provide valuable protection against significant financial loss as a result of injury lawsuits.

In fact, courts in about 45 states enforce well-drafted liability waivers that are voluntarily signed by adult participants in sport,

Utah Supreme Court Reaffirms: Parental Waivers Are Not Enforceable in Utah

 By Doyice Cotten

Levi Rutherford, a minor and a highly skilled skier, suffered a brain injury when he skied into a patch of thick, wet, machine-made snow and crashed at a ski resort d.b.a. The Canyons. His parents sued alleging negligence and premises liability (Rutherford v. Talisker Canyon Finance Co., LLC, 2019).  Defendants claimed the suit was barred by the waiver signed by Rutherford’s parents and by the Utah ski statute.

Of interest in this post is the Utah Supreme Court ruling as to whether parental waivers are enforceable in Utah.

Kentucky Supreme Court Rules Parental Waivers Relied Upon by Commercial Entities Are NOT Enforceable

By Doyice Cotten

 The Kentucky Supreme Court is the latest court to record an opinion regarding the enforcement parental waivers (a waiver signed by the parent of a child releasing the activity provider from liability for subsequent injury suffered by the child). In this case, the child E.M., the child of Kathy Miller was injured while participating at a trampoline park (IN RE: Kathy Miller v. House of Boom Kentucky, LLC, 2019).

The issue was whether a pre-injury liability waiver signed by a parent on behalf of a minor child is enforceable under Kentucky law.

Court in New York Ski Case Rules that Parental Waivers Allowing Minors to Ski are Valid & Enforceable

By Doyice Cotten

Bryan DiFrancesco’s son was injured while on a ski lift with a ski instructor employed by the defendant Win-Sum Ski Corp [DBA Holiday Valley, Inc.]. The uncle of the boy had signed a waiver of liability and assumption of inherent risks so that the 5 year-old could ski. The boy fell from the lift and sustained severe injuries. The father subsequently filed a suit in federal court against the ski resort on behalf of the boy (DiFrancesco v.

State Parental Waiver Law Summarized — Part VIII

 

By Doyice Cotten

This is the eighth of an eight-part series on the enforcement of parental waivers.

As you should have surmised from the previous posts, parental waiver law varies by state. One law that remains the same in all states is that a contract signed only by the minor is unenforceable and non-binding, with a few possible exceptions (e.g., for necessities, when emancipated, when approved by the court).

I mentioned in an earlier post that prior to 1990,

WAIVERS FOR MINOR PARTICIPANTS: Broad Statutes Relating to Enforcement of Parental Waivers — Part III

 

By Doyice Cotten

This is the third of an eight-part series on the enforceability of liability waivers of negligence when the sport or recreation participant is a minor.

 

Statutes Allowing Parental Waivers for Negligence

Three states have statutes that specifically state that parental waivers are enforceable under certain circumstances. These are Alaska, Colorado, and Minnesota.

Alaska

A.S. 09.65-292 [2012] provides the following:

(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section,

Delaware Court Enforces Motocross Parental Waiver for Negligence but Not for Recklessness

By Doyice Cotten

 

In 2013, Tommy Lynam (age 13), was riding a motocross bicycle at Blue Diamond Motocross near New Castle. While riding, Tommy rode off a jump, made a hard landing, and was unable to stop in time before colliding with a large metal shipping container. Lynam sued alleging negligence and recklessness (Lynam v. Blue Diamond Motocross LLC, 2016).

 

Lynam’s father had signed a waiver entitled “Parental Consent, Release and Waiver of Liability,

Parental Waiver Fails to Protect in Oklahoma

By Doyice Cotten

Makenzie Wethington, sixteen years-old, wanted to learn to skydive (Wethington v. Swainson, 2015). She and her parents, went to Pegasus Airsport Center to learn how. She and her parents signed a waiver of liability as part of the registration process. She underwent an instruction course that included determining the condition of the parachute after deployment, gaining control and resolving any deployment problems and, if necessary, activating her emergency parachute.

Parental Waiver Ambiguity Caused by Failure to Specify that Both Parent’s and Minor’s Rights Are Waived

By Doyice Cotten

In a 2013 California case (Vahedy v. Remigio), a 16 year-old camper was injured while being transported by a camp volunteer back to the Jews for Jesus headquarters for the final night of the camp. Cecilia Vahedy’s father had signed a “Medical Authorization and Liaibilty Release.” There were a number of issues in the case, but the one addressed in this post regards the possible ambiguity created when the waiver fails to clearly specify that the parent is waiving both the parent’s and the minor participant’s right to sue.

First Parental Waiver Enforced in North Carolina

By Doyice Cotten

In Kelly v. United States of America (2014), the first parental waiver was enforced in North Carolina by a U.S. District Court. Morgan Kelly, a 15-year-old girl, was a cadet in the JROTC program at her high school. She attended a JROTC orientation visit to a United States Marine Corps Base after one of her parents signed a waiver of liability on her behalf. She was injured and this suit was filed.