Justices: Parents can’t waive liability for kids
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – The Florida Supreme Court says parents cannot waive liability for their children when they participate in such activities as motor sports.
The 4-1 ruling Thursday in the 2003 death of a 14-year-old boy who was riding an all-terrain vehicle at a commercial track applies only to liability by businesses.
It cleared the way for a lawsuit against the track in Okeechobee County. A trial judge cited a waiver signed by the Christopher Jones’ father in dismissing the suit. An appellate court disagreed and the justices approved that decision.
Justices: Parents can’t waive liability for kids
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Parents cannot waive liability on behalf of their children by signing releases before the kids participate in motor sports and other hazardous activities, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The 4-1 ruling in the death of a 14-year-old boy while riding an all-terrain vehicle could have broad implications for businesses that offer such activities as go-cart and motocross racing, bungee jumping, horseback riding, parasailing and scuba diving.
“Florida’s children and parents need not worry, after today’s decision, that careless commercial operators may be immunized from their carelessness by the presence of an exculpatory clause in a ticket for admission,” Justice Harry Lee Anstead wrote in a concurring opinion.
The decision cleared the way for a lawsuit against the owners and manager of Thunder Cross Motor Sports Park in Okeechobee County, where Christopher Jones died after attempting a jump. He lost control and was ejected from the vehicle. It then landed on top of him. He got up and began walking way, but then collapsed and died.
A trial judge cited a waiver signed by Christopher’s father in dismissing the lawsuit. An appellate court disagreed and reinstated the suit. The high court approved that decision.
“Up to now, the activity providers were able to use children’s desire to participate as a way to force parents to give them immunity,” said Brad Rockenbach, a lawyer for Christopher’s estate. “You do it because kids want to go.”
Rockenbach said the ruling also should serve as an incentive for operators to make their activities safer.
A lawyer for the track’s owners and manager did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Whether the decision also affects noncommercial endeavors such as community or school based activities may require further litigation.
Anstead wrote that he wanted “to emphasize that our holding is narrowly directed at those commercial operators who wrongfully and negligently cause injury.”
Chief Justice Peggy Quince, though, wrote in a footnote to the main opinion that it “should not be read as limiting our reasoning only to … commercial activity.”
“The majority opinion creates many questions and provides few answers,” Justice Charles Wells wrote in dissent.
Wells agreed it’s a good idea to limit parental pre-injury releases. But he wrote that such limits should be imposed by the Legislature, not the courts. He added that it’s “fundamentally unfair now to declare a new public policy and then apply it to the defendants in this case.”