Distefano
Distefano v. Forester
Opinion
Opinion
Nares, J.
Introduction
In April 1998, plaintiff and appellant Greg Distefano (Distefano) and defendant and respondent John Glenn Forester (Forester) were both engaged in the sport of “off-roading.” Distefano was riding his motorcycle on a dirt trail, approaching the crest of a small blind hill. At the same time, Forester was ascending the other side of the same blind hill in a dune buggy. Neither Distefano nor Forester could see the other approaching the top of the hill. Forester’s dune buggy collided head-on with Distefano’s motorcycle, and Distefano suffered serious injuries.
Distefano brought a negligence action against Forester, who moved for summary judgment on the ground the action was barred under the doctrine of primary assumption of the risk considered in Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal.4th 296 [ 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 2 , 834 P.2d 696 ] (Knight) and Ford v. Gouin (1992) 3 Cal.4th 339 [ 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 30 , 834 P.2d 724 , 34 A.L.R.5th 769 ] (Ford) (hereafter also referred to as the Knight primary assumption of the risk doctrine or the Knight rule). The court granted the motion and entered judgment in Forester’s favor, and Distefano appealed.