Greener

INTRODUCTION

Jack Greener, a Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) student, suffered a fractured neck and a spinal cord injury due to a series of moves his instructor, Francisco Iturralde, performed on him while sparring at Del Mar Jiu Jitsu Club (the Club), a BJJ dojo owned and operated by M. Phelps, Inc. Greener sued, alleging Iturralde was negligent and M. Phelps, Inc. (collectively, Appellants) was vicariously liable. Appellants invoked the primary assumption of risk doctrine, contending they had no duty to protect Greener from incurring these injuries in the inherently risky sport of BJJ. The relevant jury instruction on primary assumption of risk, CACI No. 471, provides two alternative standards under which a sports instructor may be liable to an injured student. The applicable standard depends on the particular facts of each case. Option 1—the primary assumption of risk doctrine—holds an instructor liable only if the instructor intentionally injured the student or acted so recklessly that the conduct was “entirely outside the range of ordinary activity involved in teaching” the sport. Option 2—a sports-specific negligence standard—imposes liability if the instructor “unreasonably…