Hoffman v. Sports Car Club of America

• Decision Date: 22 April 1986
• Citation: 180 Cal.App.3d 119,225 Cal.Rptr. 359
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: Douglas A. HOFFMAN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA, et al., Defendants and Respondents. E001361.

Page 359

225 Cal.Rptr. 359

180 Cal.App.3d 119

Douglas A. HOFFMAN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA, et al., Defendants and Respondents.

E001361.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 2, California.

April 22, 1986.

Certified for Partial Publication.

Memel, Jacobs, Pierno, Gersh & Ellsworth and John F. Gerard, Los Angeles, for plaintiff and appellant.

Hillsinger & Costanzo, Darrell A. Forgey, Clifford R. Anderson, III and Lori K. Smith, Los Angeles, for defendants and respondents.

Dummit & Agajanian, Cary Agajanian and Stephen L. Hewitt, Los Angeles, for amicus curiae K & K Ins. Co.

OPINION ^*

McDANIEL, Associate Justice.

The appeal here is from a summary judgment, dismissing plaintiff's action for personal injuries sustained in a collision between so-called sports cars, one of which he was driving, during a sports-car race at Riverside International Raceway conducted under the auspices variously of certain of the several defendants (defendants).

Before entering the race, during which the collision occurred, plaintiff had participated, several weeks before, in at least two "race schools" designed to prepare persons to drive under racing conditions on racetracks. In each of these instances, he had signed similar agreements releasing defendants from liability for negligence. Also as part of preparation for the eventual race competition, where the collision occurred, plaintiff, while attending the race school, subscribed a contract with defendant California Sports Car Club Region, Inc., which provided, if plaintiff were accepted as a participant in the race competition, that he "must sign a release agreement at registration before entering the race." In compliance with this earlier contract, plaintiff, before the fateful race, signed a printed "Release and Waiver of Liability and Indemnity Agreement." The import of the release was to relieve the parties conducting the race, and any car owners and drivers participating, from liability for injury caused by their negligence. In a separate paragraph the release provided that the subscribing participant "HEREBY ASSUMES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND RISK of bodily injury ... due to negligence of" those conducting the race. The document also included a recital that the plaintiff "COVENANTS NOT TO SUE" for injury caused by defendants' negligence. A noteworthy feature of the form of release used here was that the participant's signature was called for to be placed over and superimposed upon a printed legend which reads "I HAVE READ THIS RELEASE."

On appeal, besides attacking the enforceability of the release as a legal matter, plaintiff further contends that there were triable issues of fact raised by its filings in opposition. Notwithstanding this same contention to the trial court, the court looked upon the matter before it as involving only a legal issue, i.e., the enforceability of the release. As we shall explain later, we agree with the trial court's determination that this was the only issue before it. Moreover, in our view, the trial court correctly decided that the release agreement was legally enforceable, and so the judgment in favor of defendants will be affirmed.

SYNOPSIS OF TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

Plaintiff's complaint included seven counts. Only three of these alleged negligence on the part of those defendants who moved for summary judgment. These parties were those defendants who had sponsored and conducted the race plus the owner of the Corvette with which plaintiff's Porsche collided. A careful scrutiny of the counts addressed by the motion reveals that the principal charging allegation recited that the defendants "did so negligently or tortiously manage, control, monitor, organize, arrange, schedule, or conduct [the race], in that, among other things, said Defendants, and each of them, negligently and tortiously failed to comply with their own safety standards, policies, rules, guidelines, or regulations and negligently or tortiously failed to appoint or provide adequate and properly monitored supervised personnel to enforce said safety standards, policies, rules, guidelines, or regulations; and Defendants JIM BROWN THUMPER SPOILERS, RON CASSILE, DOES 201 through 420, inclusive, and each of them, did so negligently or tortiously entrust, control, own, possess, manage, maintain Otherwise, the two counts directed solely at the owner of the Corvette charged him with negligently modifying and maintaining it, on the one hand, and with strict products liability on the other.

drive or operate said BP Corvette, so that as a proximate result of said negligence or tortious conduct, the Porsche 911 was caused to collide with the BP Corvette, proximately resulting in a fire and explosion and in Plaintiff's injuries and damages alleged hereinafter."

We have recounted the foregoing to demonstrate that the scope of the issues, at least as framed by the pleadings, did not extend to any alleged wanton misconduct pursued in reckless disregard for the safety of others. Moreover, nothing in the way of evidence of such misconduct was offered in opposition to the motion.

Defendants' answer of course denied the charging allegation and, as an affirmative defense, alleged the fact of the release "whereby the plaintiff released defendants of and from all liability ... including the alleged causes of action set forth in the complaint ..."

After the case was at issue, depositions were taken and then, 14 months after filing their answer alleging the release as an affirmative defense, defendants noticed their motion for summary judgment. In support of their motion, defendants attached a number of exhibits, properly authenticated by declarations, consisting of: the release signed by plaintiff on March 22, 1980; the release signed by plaintiff in favor of the race school on February 24, 1980, and March 8, 1980; of plaintiff's responses to defendants' request for admissions; plus various passages from plaintiff's deposition and that of John Jovanovich, the owner of the Porsche. The relevant showing represented by these documents established the facts surrounding the signing of the release as well as its content and layout, including the type size used to print it.

Plaintiff's opposition to the motion, while covering 78 pages in the Clerk's Transcript, included only one-and-a-half pages of declaration by one of the counsel for plaintiff. The purpose of the declaration was to authenticate certain exhibits attached, including portions of plaintiff's deposition and also that of Zvonimir Jovanovic (aka John Jovanovich). Of the elaborate and extensive points and authorities, four were addressed to legal issues involving the enforceability of the release, and one purported to urge that there were three issues of fact raised by plaintiff's opposition to the motion. These three included whether there had been: (1) excusable mistake in signing the release; (2) fraud in the inducement; and (3) undue influence applied in obtaining the release.

Upon hearing the argument of the motion, the court made it very plain that in its view the issue before it was entirely legal, i.e., that the filings in opposition had not included any materials which operated to raise triable issues of fact. Actually, the record of the argument includes the following:

"THE COURT: I am assuming almost as if this is a demurrer. The facts are the flag person should have flagged the person down and slowed it down. If it had slowed down, it would not have gone out of control.

"MR. GERARD: I think you have to assume that.

"THE COURT: I am assuming there is no question of fact. The Summary Judgment--and I think Counsel can say if I am wrong--relies solely on the release.

"MR. ANDERSON: That is correct.

"THE COURT: That is the only issue we have before us. So we have the same matter I have had presented on other cases as if it were a demurrer."

At the conclusion of the argument, the court announced from the bench that "I do grant the Summary Judgment." A formal order and judgment were later signed and filed; this appeal followed in due course.

DISCUSSION

In support of his appeal, plaintiff makes seven assignments of error. Five of these are directed at particular legal aspects of the purported unenforceability of the release. Otherwise, plaintiff argues that the hearing of the motion for summary judgment resulted in a showing that the record presented three triable issues of fact. Finally, plaintiff contends that the trial court abused its discretion in not...