Chapter 5 - § 5.2 • EXCULPATORY AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO ON BEHALF OF MINORS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 5.2 • EXCULPATORY AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO ON BEHALF OF MINORS

Colorado law permits parents to sign exculpatory agreements releasing potential liability claims on behalf of their children. C.R.S. § 13-22-107. An exculpatory agreement signed by a parent may not, however, shift compensation for a claim from a tortfeasor to an injured child's parent. Cooper v. Aspen Skiing Co., 48 P.3d 1229, 1235 (Colo. 2002). Additionally, a parent or guardian may not release a minor's claim for injuries resulting from a reckless or willful and wanton act or omission. Id.

In Cooper, the Colorado Supreme Court considered the validity of an exculpatory agreement signed by a parent to release a skiing club from all her child's potential claims for liability. Seventeen-year-old David Cooper was a competitive ski racer. He trained at the Aspen Valley Ski Club, Inc., where he had been a member for about nine years. On December 13, 1995, while training for a high-speed alpine race on a course set by his coach, John McBride, Jr., David fell and crashed into a tree. He sustained severe injuries, including the loss of vision in both of his eyes. Id. at 1230-31.

At the beginning of the 1995-1996 ski season, David and his mother had signed a release form entitled "Aspen Valley Ski Club, Inc. Acknowledgement and Assumption of Risk and Release." The release purported to relieve Aspen Valley Ski Club from any liability, known or unknown, including liabilities that may arise out of negligence or carelessness. The release also provided that David and his mother agreed to waive, release, discharge, indemnify, and hold harmless any and all claims for damages from death, personal injury, or property damage resulting from any participation in the Aspen Valley Ski Club. Id. at 1231.

After David's accident, he and his parents filed suit against the ski club and David's coach, alleging negligence and other claims. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, and the trial court in Pitkin County, Colorado, granted the motion. The trial court determined that, as a matter of law, the release signed by both David and his mother before David's injury occurred was enforceable and served to bar any claims of negligence against the defendants. The trial court, however, denied the motion insofar as it sought to enforce the indemnity provisions of the release against David's mother. Id. at 1231.

David appealed the trial court's order, but the court of appeals affirmed. Cooper v. Aspen Ski Ass'n, 32 P.3d 502 (Colo. App. 2000), rev'd, 48 P.3d 1229 (Colo. 2002). The appellate court held that even though David...