Case by paralyzed snowboarder against Boyne USA is dismissed;

This week the Court of Appeals upheld the Charlevoix Circuit Judge's decision to dismiss a negligence claim brought by a snowboarder against Boyne USA.  The Court concluded that the Ski Area Safety Act granted immunity to Boyne Mountain for alleged negligence in the creation of its terrain park.

The snowboarder who was paralyzed argued that Boyne negligently constructed a new jump in its terrain park, creating an unreasonable hazard for users of the park not intending to make jumps.  The Court cited to a previous case, where a falling ski racer had run into an inappropriately placed timing structure, to hold that the Ski Area Safety Act granted immunity to ski resorts beyond the precise language of the Act.  While the injured party in each case claimed that the Act left resorts responsible for negligently-created hazards, the Republican-dominated Courts have concluded, in essence, that under the Act skiers and snowboarders assume the risk of falls and collisions when they buy their lift ticket, making the negligence of the resort irrelevant.