Negligence - Release - Ski resort - New Hampshire law.

Byline: Mass. Lawyers Weekly Staff

Where a plaintiff who was injured while skiing in New Hampshire brought suit alleging negligence, the defendant ski resort was correctly awarded summary judgment based on a liability release printed on a lift ticket purchased by the plaintiff.

Affirmed.

"Thomas Jackson Miller collided with unmarked snowmaking equipment while skiing at the Mount Sunapee Resort in 2015 in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Soon thereafter, he brought a tort suit under New Hampshire law against the resort's owner, The Sunapee Difference, LLC ('Mount Sunapee'), in the District of New Hampshire.

"Miller contends that the District Court erred in granting summary judgment based on the release because the question of whether there was a 'meeting of the minds' with respect to the release was one of fact that had to be left to the jury to resolve. But, we do not agree.

"The District Court correctly rejected Miller's contention that the mere fact that he did not sign the release precluded the grant of summary judgment against him.

"Similarly, the District Court correctly rejected Miller's contention that the fact that the record supportably showed that he did not read the release precluded the grant of summary judgment.

"To be sure, Miller did contend below as he now argues on appeal that the record supportably shows that he did not have the opportunity to read the release. But, while the record supportably shows that he did not, as the District Court succinctly put it, 'take advantage' of the opportunity...