Dunbar v. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Lucero
• Citation: Dunbar v. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, 392 F.3d 1145 (10th Cir. 2004)
• Decision Date: 14 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-8057.,03-8057.
• Parties: Camie R. DUNBAR and Douglas Dunbar, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT CORPORATION, a Wyoming Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

392 F.3d 1145

Camie R. DUNBAR and Douglas Dunbar, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT CORPORATION, a Wyoming Corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 03-8057.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

December 14, 2004.

Robert E. Schroth Sr. (Robert E. Schroth Jr. and W. Keith Goody, with him on the briefs), Jackson, WY, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Mikel L. Moore (James K. Lubing, Jackson, Wyoming, with him on the brief), Christensen, Moore, Cockrell, Cummings & Axelberg, P.C., Kalispell, MT, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before SEYMOUR, HENRY, and LUCERO, Circuit Judges.

LUCERO, Circuit Judge.

While skiing at the Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Resort, Camie Dunbar fell approximately twelve feet into a snowboard half-pipe, suffering severe injuries for which she alleges negligence on the part of Jackson Hole. At the time of her accident, Dunbar was attempting to exit a specially designated ski and snowboard terrain park. Finding that Jackson Hole did not owe Dunbar a duty of care for risks inherent to her chosen recreational activity under the Wyoming Recreational Safety Act, the district court granted summary judgment for the resort. Dunbar now appeals, arguing that the risks inherent to alpine skiing do not include the risk of falling into the side of a snowboard half-pipe when following a Jackson Hole employee's instructions on how to exit the terrain park. We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and REVERSE.

I

In March 2001, Camie Dunbar suffered the stated injuries when she skied off a snow ledge in a specially designed "terrain park" at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A 33-year-old self-described intermediate skier from South Florida, Dunbar skied into the terrain park area with other members of her group who were part of a promotional ski trip sponsored by her employer Clear Channel Communications.

Containing various man made features such as a table top jump and a snowboard half-pipe, the Jackson Hole terrain park is designed for advanced skiers and snowboarders who choose to recreate in a very challenging risk-filled environment. The terrain park is separated by a fence and a boundary rope from an intermediate ski run. To enter the terrain park, skiers must pass through a gate marked with a warning sign, alerting them that they are entering an advanced ski area where "serious injuries, death, and equipment damage can occur." At the time of the accident, the terrain park had been relocated to its position in an intermediate ski run, and did not appear on the Resort's trail maps.

On the last day of her trip, Dunbar, along with Dave Dresher and Mike Jennings, went up the mountain intending to "investigate" the terrain park. In proceeding down an intermediate ski run, they skied through an initial gate providing a warning sign that they were entering a double black diamond "terrain feature trail." After stopping adjacent to a red tram car which served as the office for the "pipe and park" crew who were responsible for maintenance of the terrain park, Dunbar observed other skiers and snowboarders maneuver various features in the terrain park.

Based on their observations, Dunbar and her companions decided that they did not want to try any of the features. In her deposition, Dunbar attested to thinking "this is my last day [and] I want to go home in one piece." She stated that she did not know that there was a snowboard half-pipe in the terrain park, and believed instead that the area included only the jumps she observed from the red gondola. There is no suggestion by either party that Dunbar intended to jump any of the terrain jumps or intended to try her hand at stunts as a skier in a snowboard half-pipe. Having decided that she did not want to ski any of the double-black diamond features, she asked a Jackson Hole employee how to exit that area "if you don't want to take this terrain park." She was told either to take off her skis and hike back to the gate through which she had entered or to proceed in the direction of a "catwalk" to which the employee pointed. Unbeknownst to Dunbar, the "catwalk" led to a side entrance to the snowboard half-pipe.

Ms. Dunbar along with her companions skied along the "catwalk." Although it is a matter of some dispute between the parties, in order to proceed down the catwalk, skiers had to pass warning signs indicating that they were approaching a snowboard half-pipe area. Both Dunbar and her companions claim not to have noticed the signs. Dunbar and Jennings went along the catwalk, up an incline, across a flat deck, and fell approximately twelve feet into the half-pipe. Jennings managed to maneuver his snowboard in such a way as to avoid injury. Dunbar was not so fortunate. As a consequence of her fall into the half-pipe, she suffered severe injuries to her pelvis and thigh requiring surgery and intensive physical therapy. Dunbar testified that she will neither be able to return to her pre-injury range of motion, nor will she be capable of having a natural childbirth as a result of the injury to her hip.

Asserting that Jackson Hole's negligence caused her injuries, Dunbar filed suit in district court. Jackson Hole filed a motion for summary judgment and a motion to strike portions of Dunbar's affidavits as attempts to create sham factual issues in order to survive summary judgment. The district court granted both motions for Jackson Hole on the basis that portions of Dunbar's affidavit were inconsistent with her deposition testimony. Dunbar now appeals.

II

We review a grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standards as the district court pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Chickasaw Nation v. United States, 208 F.3d 871, 875 (10th Cir.2000). Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We must look carefully to determine if existing factual disputes are material, because "[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A court may not grant summary judgment when "a material fact is `genuine,' that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id. When the moving party has informed the district court of the basis for its motion, however, a nonmoving party may not stand merely on its pleadings, but must set forth "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). In our application of this standard, we view the evidence and draw reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Simms v. Oklahoma ex rel. Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Servs., 165 F.3d 1321, 1326 (10th Cir.1999). Furthermore, as a federal court sitting in diversity, we must ascertain the applicable Wyoming law as announced by the Wyoming Supreme Court so that the substantive law applied in federal court does not differ from what would apply in state court. Wood v. Eli Lilly & Co., 38 F.3d 510, 512 (10th Cir.1994).

A

To protect providers of recreational sports and activities from liability for alpine skiing, equine activities, and other outdoor pursuits in the state, the Wyoming legislature limited their duty of care by enacting the Wyoming Recreation Safety Act. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-121 et. seq.; see Sapone v. Grand Targhee, Inc., 308 F.3d 1096, 1101 (10th Cir.2002). As a matter of common law, in order to prevail in a negligence action, a plaintiff would first have to demonstrate that the defendant owed her a duty to act with reasonable care. See, e.g., Erpelding v. Lisek, 71 P.3d 754, 757 (Wyo.2003). The Safety Act is designed to limit the duty a provider of recreational sports and activities owes to participants.

Under the Safety Act, a provider of a recreational opportunity has no duty to protect participants from "inherent risks" of the particular sport or recreational opportunity. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-123. In relevant part, the act provides:

(a) Any person who takes part in any sport or recreational opportunity assumes the inherent risks in that sport or recreational opportunity, whether those risks are known or unknown, and is legally responsible for any and all damage, injury or death to himself or other persons or property that results from the inherent risks in that sport or recreational opportunity.

(b) A provider of any sport or recreational opportunity is not required to eliminate, alter or control the inherent risks within the particular sport or recreational opportunity.

§ 1-1-123. Wyoming defines inherent risks as "those dangers or conditions which are characteristic of, intrinsic to, or an integral part of any sport or recreational opportunity." Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-1-122(a)(i). Wyoming further defines "Sport or recreational opportunity" as meaning "commonly understood sporting activities," which include "alpine skiing." § 1-1-122(a)(iii). Thus, for example, a provider of an alpine skiing opportunity will not be liable for a duty of care with regard to dangers that are "characteristic of" or "intrinsic to" or "an integral part" of the sport of alpine skiing. However, the act does provide for a cause of action based on the negligence of the recreational opportunity provider when the injury is not the result of an inherent risk of the sport or recreational opportunity:

"Actions based upon negligence of the provider wherein the damage, injury or death is not the result of an inherent risk of the sport or recreational opportunity shall be...