Whitewater rafting, 13 injuries one death and release in WV are upheld. Management-level employees of DC health care company rafted river in allegedly high water causing injuries.
Posted: May 12, 2014 Filed under: Release (pre-injury contract not to sue), West Virginia, Whitewater Rafting | Tags: Admiralty Law, Assumption of risk, Defendant, Maritime Law, Raft, Rafting, Recreation, Shenandoah River, West Virginia, Whitewater Rafting, Writ of Prohibition 4 CommentsWest Virginia Supreme court holds that admiralty or maritime law does not apply to whitewater rafting.
Date of the Decision: December 10, 2008
Plaintiff on Appeal, Defendants at the trial court: River Riders, Inc., and Matthew Knott, Petitioners
Defendant: The Honorable Thomas W. Steptoe
Third parties on appeal: plaintiff’s at the trial court: Executor of the estate of the deceased and the 13 injured plaintiffs
Plaintiff Claims: failed to meet the statutory “standard of care” expected of members of the whitewater guide profession in direct violation of the West Virginia Whitewater Responsibility Act, W. Va. Code
Defendant Defenses: release
Issue on Appeal: Whether the trial court had improperly held the whitewater rafting trip was subject to federal admiralty law.
Holding:
This is an interesting case from a procedural perspective as well as a factual one. The issue on appeal is not a review of a complete ruling by the trial court but of a ruling that the defendants, and the court felt would influence the final decision. Meaning the defendant could convince the appellate court that the trial court’s ruling was probably wrong and unless corrected now, the entire trial would have to be done again.
The facts are people went rafting on the Shenandoah River in West Virginia. Before embarking on the trip each person signed a “Release, Assumption of Risk and Indemnity Agreement.” The water was higher than average on the day of the raft trip; 12.5 feet compared to an average of 2 to 4 feet. During the raft trip four of the rafts dumped, sending several people into the water, including the deceased and thirteen other rafters into the river.
Two separate lawsuits were filed over the incident. The first was by the estate of the deceased. The second lawsuit was filed by the other thirteen injured rafters.
The complaints of the plaintiff allege several issues:
…River Riders failed to meet the statutory “standard of care” expected of members of the whitewater guide profession in direct violation of the West Virginia Whitewater Responsibility Act, W. Va. Code §20-3B-3(b) (1987).
…that running a raft trip on September 30, 2004, simply was not reasonable under the circumstances, and that the expected standard of care would have obligated River Riders to cancel or reschedule the whitewater expedition on that day because of the river’s high and turbulent waters caused by a recent hurricane that had swept through the area.
…failing to call off or postpone the trip until conditions were safe to go out on the river, by failing to recognize that the operating capabilities of its rafts with the inexperienced customers would be unsafe and hazardous in high, swift and rough water conditions; and by wrongfully electing to navigate the Shenandoah River and in particular the Shenandoah Staircase.
The complaint for the wrongful death included the following claims:
two separate counts: one for negligence, gross negligence, reckless and wanton conduct; the other for negligence per se. Citing fifteen alleged acts or omissions, Count One alleges that the duties owed by River Riders to Mr. Freeman included the duty to conform to the standard of care expected of members of their profession, the duty to conform to safety and other requirements set forth in the West Virginia Code, the duty to conform to rules promulgated by the commercial whitewater advisory board, and the duty not to act in a reckless or wanton manner. Count Two alleges two additional acts or omissions constituting negligence per se, including citations by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resource for failure to mark a commercial water craft and failure to have a valid CPR card as required by W. Va. Code §20-2-23a
Prior to trial, the plaintiff’s filed a motion in limine to exclude the release agreement which the court granted. The court relied upon a prior West Virginia Supreme Court case that held since there was a statute supporting and providing defenses for the whitewater rafting industry, a release was no long available as a defense. Murphy v. North American River Runners, Inc., 186 W. Va. 310, 412 S.E.2d 504 (1991)
Another motion in limine was filed by the plaintiff’s arguing that assumption of risk could not be a defense because the case was governed by maritime law.
Finally, the plaintiff’s filed a motion to consolidate both lawsuits into one and have one trial. This motion was also granted by the court.
The defendants then filed motions with the West Virginia Supreme court arguing that the motions of the trial court were wrong, and the court had to intervene for a fair trial to occur. This motion was called a Writ of Prohibition.
The West Virginia Supreme Court granted the Writ but only as to the issue of whether or not maritime law applied to a whitewater rafting case in West Virginia.
This Court has, on limited occasions, considered challenges from evidentiary rulings in unique circumstances where the matter at issue rose to a level of considerable importance and compelling urgency.
The court declined to review the other issues because a writ of prohibition was not the proper way to argue the issues and timing of those issues were best left to the appeal of the case.
Summary of the case
To be subject to Federal maritime law a two-prong test must be met, “whether the rafting mishap and ensuing tort claims arising therefrom satisfied both prerequisite conditions of 1) location on the navigable waters and 2) connection with maritime activity.”
In determining whether or not the accident occurred on navigable waters the trial court should have included an analysis of “…whether the incident constituted “a potentially disruptive impact on maritime commerce” and that it had a “substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity” and determined the “the activity of whitewater rafting does not constitute traditional maritime activity and is therefore, not governed by maritime law.”
…given the fact that the Shenandoah River maintains average depths of two feet, 18 it is hard to envision how the act of whitewater rafting could have a potentially disruptive impact on maritime commerce, to the extent that this area was unlikely a highly traveled thoroughfare over which trade and travel is conducted.
Nor could the court find any decision where admiralty law had been applied to whitewater rafting.
Whitewater rafting is a recreational activity where participants seek the adventure of paddling a rubber raftin rapidly moving whitewater streams and rivers. Such use of streams and rivers carrying people, not as traveling passengers, but rather as participants seeking adventure, makes it difficult to conceive that whitewater rafting bears a substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity.
The appellate court sent the case back down with two of the rulings intact.
So Now What?
Admiralty law is a separate area of the law. It was developed prior to the formation of the United States for commerce between countries. It has very different rules for liability, worker’s compensation and other legal issues. In the US, admiralty law also applies to travel on major rivers and waterways. When and how admiralty law is applied is dependent upon the federal statute and the type of admiralty activity. As an example there are more than a dozen different definitions of navigable for different maritime activities.
Admiralty law came from commerce. Admiralty law has been applied to recreational activities in the past, such as using personal water craft, however, in all of those cases; the activity was on the ocean or large bodies of water.
Admiralty law could be used in some states on some rafting rivers as a defense, if handled by a law firm knowledgeable in admiralty law. If the jurisdictional issues are met, a defendant can go to court within six months of an accident and file a notice (open a case) and post a bond. The reason for doing this is, under admiralty law, the damages available to the plaintiff’s is limited to the value of the vessel and its contents after the accident. However, by doing this the raft company may be admitting liability and must prove it was an admiralty issue.
This law as created to limit the damages of a ship owner to not bankrupt the owner or the industry. A $10,000 raft, frame and gear are a relatively cheap and easy way to get out from under a potential claim. However, if you fail to meet the requirements but are still subject to admiralty law, you do not have several defenses normally relied upon to stop claims: releases and assumption of the risk.
To some extent, we are left hanging by the decision on whether a release is valid as a defense in a rafting accident in West Virginia. However, the decision on whether the federal maritime law is applicable is valuable.
What do you think? Leave a comment.
If you like this let your friends know or post it on FaceBook, Twitter or LinkedIn
Copyright 2014 Recreation Law (720) Edit Law
Email: Rec-law@recreation-law.com
Google+: +Recreation
Twitter: RecreationLaw
Facebook: Rec.Law.Now
Facebook Page: Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Travel Law
Blog: www.recreation-law.com
Mobile Site: http://m.recreation-law.com
By Recreation Law Rec-law@recreation-law.com James H. Moss #Authorrank
<rel=”author” link=” https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/112453188060350225356/” />
#AdventureTourism, #AdventureTravelLaw, #AdventureTravelLawyer, #AttorneyatLaw, #Backpacking, #BicyclingLaw, #Camps, #ChallengeCourse, #ChallengeCourseLaw, #ChallengeCourseLawyer, #CyclingLaw, #FitnessLaw, #FitnessLawyer, #Hiking, #HumanPowered, #HumanPoweredRecreation, #IceClimbing, #JamesHMoss, #JimMoss, #Law, #Mountaineering, #Negligence, #OutdoorLaw, #OutdoorRecreationLaw, #OutsideLaw, #OutsideLawyer, #RecLaw, #Rec-Law, #RecLawBlog, #Rec-LawBlog, #RecLawyer, #RecreationalLawyer, #RecreationLaw, #RecreationLawBlog, #RecreationLawcom, #Recreation-Lawcom, #Recreation-Law.com, #RiskManagement, #RockClimbing, #RockClimbingLawyer, #RopesCourse, #RopesCourseLawyer, #SkiAreas, #Skiing, #SkiLaw, #Snowboarding, #SummerCamp, #Tourism, #TravelLaw, #YouthCamps, #ZipLineLawyer, Admiralty Law, Maritime Law, Whitewater Rafting, Rafting, Shenandoah River, West Virginia, Writ of Prohibition,
WordPress Tags: Whitewater,injuries,death,Management,employees,health,river,West,Virginia,Supreme,Riders,Matthew,Knott,Honorable,Thomas,Steptoe,LEXIS,Date,Decision,December,Plaintiff,Appeal,Defendants,Petitioners,Defendant,Third,Executor,estate,plaintiffs,Claims,profession,violation,Code,Defenses,Issue,Whether,perspective,Shenandoah,person,Release,Assumption,Risk,Agreement,feet,lawsuits,incident,lawsuit,complaints,September,expedition,hurricane,area,capabilities,customers,Staircase,complaint,negligence,omissions,Count,duties,Freeman,requirements,manner,citations,Division,Natural,Resource,failure,card,Prior,Court,statute,industry,Murphy,North,American,Runners,Writ,Prohibition,rulings,importance,urgency,Summary,Federal,prong,mishap,tort,prerequisite,location,connection,accident,analysis,impact,commerce,relationship,fact,extent,thoroughfare,participants,adventure,rubber,rivers,passengers,formation,States,worker,compensation,waterways,example,definitions,vessel,owner,gear,Leave,FaceBook,Twitter,LinkedIn,Recreation,Edit,Email,Google,RecreationLaw,Page,Outdoor,Travel,Blog,Mobile,Site,James,Moss,Authorrank,author,AdventureTourism,AdventureTravelLaw,AdventureTravelLawyer,AttorneyatLaw,BicyclingLaw,Camps,ChallengeCourse,ChallengeCourseLaw,ChallengeCourseLawyer,CyclingLaw,FitnessLaw,FitnessLawyer,HumanPoweredRecreation,JamesHMoss,JimMoss,OutdoorLaw,OutdoorRecreationLaw,OutsideLaw,OutsideLawyer,RecLaw,RecLawBlog,LawBlog,RecLawyer,RecreationalLawyer,RecreationLawBlog,RecreationLawcom,Lawcom,RiskManagement,RockClimbingLawyer,RopesCourse,RopesCourseLawyer,SkiAreas,SkiLaw,SummerCamp,Tourism,TravelLaw,YouthCamps,ZipLineLawyer,Maritime,appellate,limine,upon
Recreation Law 
Thank you for the response.
Is there a reason it is called the motion of limine? Why is it not a common word or common knowledge if it is so powerful?
I wonder if this is not used very often.
LikeLike
US law has evolved over 600 years from England and Rome. Originally the law was in Latin. Motion in Limine is one of the Latin phrases that has not changed in 450 years. There are still hundreds of terms and phrases that are in Latin that are in the law. In fact, in the 60’s Latin was a requisite to get into some law schools.
LikeLike
This case is very confusing and took time to understand it better. I would like to have seen a final result of this case to know how it ended up. I learned what a writ of prohibition is as well as what it means. As well as a motion to limine. These are terms that I have never heard before.
I also learned that the Supreme court can choose what parts of a case that they want to accept and what parts that they want to decline. This gives them even more power than I thought they had.
I think the whitewater company should not be held liable because the participants chose to participate even though the water was so large.
LikeLike
A motion in limine is the most powerful motion a defense attorney has.
LikeLike