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Bono v. Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Feb 24, 2000
269 A.D.2d 482 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)

Summary

affirming summary judgment to defendants where the decedent plaintiff, in an attempt to avoid ice in the center portion of the trail, “ski[ed] on a fifteen-foot wide portion along the right tree line, . . . hit an ice patch, fell, struck a tree, and suffered fatal injuries”

Summary of this case from Good v. Peak Resorts, Inc.

Opinion

Argued January 14, 2000

February 24, 2000

In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for wrongful death, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Richmond County (Sangiorgio, J.), entered February 5, 1999, which granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

Howard M. File, Staten Island, N.Y., for appellant.

Carol A. Schrager, New York, N.Y. (Beth A. Willensky of counsel), for respondents.

CORNELIUS J. O'BRIEN, J.P., WILLIAM D. FRIEDMANN, ANITA R. FLORIO, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

While skiing down an expert slope at premises operated by the defendant Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl, Inc., the decedent and his companion encountered icy conditions in the center portion of the trail. They decided to avoid the ice by skiing on a fifteen-foot wide portion along the right tree line, which they judged to have better conditions. Unfortunately, the decedent then hit an ice patch, fell, struck a tree, and suffered fatal injuries. Upon stipulation, the action was dismissed insofar as asserted against the defendant Hunter Water Supply Corp. The remaining defendants subsequently moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint based on the doctrine of assumption of risk, and the Supreme Court granted the motion. We affirm.

The deposition testimony of the decedent's widow, the plaintiff, and of the decedent's skiing companion, established that the decedent was an experienced skier who had skied on the trail in the past. Accordingly, the decedent, as a voluntary participant in the sport of skiing, assumed the very risks that he encountered before his fatal accident (see, General Obligations Law § 18-101 Gen. Oblig.; Morgan v. State of New York, 90 N.Y.2d 471 ;Braun v. Davos Resort, 241 A.D.2d 533 ). The conclusory affidavit of the plaintiff's expert, submitted in opposition to the defendants' motion, was insufficient to raise an issue of fact as to whether the defendants unreasonably increased the risks to which the decedent was exposed (see, Osorio v. Deer Run Assocs., 231 A.D.2d 504 ).


Summaries of

Bono v. Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl, Inc.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Feb 24, 2000
269 A.D.2d 482 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)

affirming summary judgment to defendants where the decedent plaintiff, in an attempt to avoid ice in the center portion of the trail, “ski[ed] on a fifteen-foot wide portion along the right tree line, . . . hit an ice patch, fell, struck a tree, and suffered fatal injuries”

Summary of this case from Good v. Peak Resorts, Inc.

affirming summary judgment in favor of defendant based upon plaintiff's assumption of the risk, where plaintiff, an experienced skier who had skied on trail in the past, skied down 15–foot wide portion of trail by right tree line, hit an ice patch, fell, and struck a tree, resulting in his death

Summary of this case from Paulus v. Holimont, Inc.
Case details for

Bono v. Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl, Inc.

Case Details

Full title:NANCY BONO, ETC., et al., appellant, v. HUNTER MOUNTAIN SKI BOWL, INC., et…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department

Date published: Feb 24, 2000

Citations

269 A.D.2d 482 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000)
703 N.Y.S.2d 246

Citing Cases

Perrone v. Catamount Ski Resort, LLC

However, those cases are inapposite because the plaintiffs self-identified as intermediate or expert level…

Paulus v. Holimont, Inc.

ished that plaintiff's accident was caused by variations in terrain and ice, all of which are inherent risks…