Copper Wins Appeal

SAM Magazine–August 1, 2011–The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a federal judge’s ruling in favor of Copper Mountain, Colo., which dismissed a lawsuit brought against the ski area after a 2006 accident. According to the AP, the lawsuit was filed by Dr. Rajeev Kumar and claimed the resort was negligent in not expressly labeling a cornice as dangerous (he was injured skiing off of one). The appeals judges ruled that Colorado’s Ski Safety Act prohibits claims based on dangers inherent to skiing, like going off a cornice, and that the cornice did not qualify as a “specified freestyle terrain area,” subject to labeling. The judges did note that they didn’t rule whether the cornice qualifies as “extreme terrain.”