Regents of University of California v. Superior Court

The Regents of the University of California (the Regents) seek a writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 437c, subd.(Z)), challenging the denial of its motion for summary judgment. It is the defendant in a wrongful death action brought by the widow of Norman Roettgen who was killed during a rock climbing class sponsored by the Regents. The complaint alleged that Mr. Roettgen’s fall was the result of defendant’s instructors’ negligence in placing four rope anchors into a single crack system resulting in the release of the line holding Mr. Roettgen. The Regents moved for summary judgment on the ground that the action was barred by the affirmative defenses of express assumption of risk and primary assumption of risk. Respondent superior court denied the motion, finding triable issues of material fact concerning whether Mr. Roettgen had expressly assumed the risk. As to the defense of primary assumption of risk, the superior court held that the Regents, as an instructor, owed Mr. Roettgen a duty of care as a matter of law.

We hold that the action was barred by the doctrine of primary assumption of risk. (Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal.4th 296, 308 [ 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 2 , 834 P.2d…