Kane

The circumstances which give rise to this appeal are tragic. Plaintiff and respondent Colleen Kane (Colleen) was severely injured and her husband, John Kane (John), was killed while they were participants in a ski clinic being conducted by defendant and appellant National Ski Patrol System, Inc. (NSPS). The clinic was for skiers who wanted to become members of a local voluntary ski patrol. Although with the benefit of hindsight one can see how errors in judgment by the clinic instructor led to Colleen’s injury and John’s death, the record shows that as a matter of law the Kanes assumed the risk of those errors. Accordingly we must reverse the judgment entered in favor of Colleen and her two children, plaintiffs and respondents Darren Kane and Shawn Kane, and instruct the trial court to enter a judgment in favor of NSPS.

Factual Summary

Prior to the 1994-1995 ski season, John and Colleen each had approximately 30 years of experience skiing. At that point they skied regularly at the Bear Mountain ski resort in the San Bernardino Mountains. At the beginning of the 1994-1995 ski season both Kanes decided to become volunteer members of the Bear Mountain ski patrol. On…