Goss v. Allen

360 A.2d 388 (1976)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was an experienced skier, who served as a first aid advisor on the ski patrol at the Mad River Glen ski resort in Vermont. D, then 17 years of age, was a beginning skier who had limited cross-country skiing experience but had never attempted a downhill run. Nor had he ever been to Mad River Glen before. Upon arrival, D was sent to the beginners' slope. D completed the comparatively short run of 30 feet or so until he came to the abrupt left turn. D lost control over his momentum and direction. He saw the two girls ahead of him, but because of the short distance remaining, his efforts to regain control and his lack of experience, he did not call out until he was almost upon the girls. P attempted to get out of the way but was unable to do so and was struck and knocked down by D. P sued D. The trial court charged the jury that the standard of care applicable in the case was not the same degree of care required of an adult, but rather that degree of care which a reasonably prudent person of 17 years of age would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances. The jury found that D was not negligent. The Appellate Division, sua sponte, raised the issue of plain error in the court's charge on the applicable standard of care. It reversed and remanded for a new trial finding plain error in the charge. The Appellate Division held that skiing was an adult activity and that where a child engages in an activity which is normally undertaken by adults, such as skiing, he should be held to the standard of adult skill, knowledge and competence, without allowance for his immaturity.