The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could further define the extent to which liability waivers protect ski resorts from negligence claims brought by customers who are injured at the resort.
John Litterer v. Vail Summit Resort Inc., a case involving negligence claims brought by a Texas snowboarder who collided with a snowmobile driven by an employee at Breckenridge Ski Resort in 2020, has been granted certiorari by the state’s highest court.
That means at least three of the seven justices on the Supreme Court have agreed to review the case, which had previously been dismissed by the Summit County District Court and Colorado Court of Appeals. Both lower courts had determined that Litterer gave up his claims to sue when he signed liability waivers when purchasing an Epic Pass.
Vail Summit Resort Inc. is a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, the company that owns the Epic Pass, six ski resorts in Colorado and dozens of other resorts across the U.S., Canada, Australia and Switzerland. A spokesperson for Breckenridge Ski Resort and Vail Resorts declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
