Wolfgang v. Mid-America Motorsports, Inc.

111 F.3d 1515 (10th Cir. 1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P, a professional race car driver, crashed into a wall during a 'media day' practice session at Lakeside Speedway. The practice session was in preparation for races scheduled for April 4 and 5, 1992. The races were promoted and sanctioned by Ds. P's car hit a tire placed on the infield at the edge of the track and swerved out of control into a concrete retaining wall. While there were normally five to seven firefighters at Lakeside racing events, only two firefighters were present when P crashed. These two firefighters had never trained together and were unfamiliar with sprint car design. They had no extrication equipment, other than pry bars in pickup trucks, and some of their hand-held fire extinguishers were not designed for use on a methanol fire. P sat in his burning car for eight to ten minutes before other drivers were finally able to extricate him. P alleged ordinary and gross negligence. Ds moved for summary judgment based primarily on a Release and Waiver of Liability signed by P prior to the accident. The district court ruled that the Release was valid and enforceable as to the ordinary negligence claims, but did not bar his claims for wanton conduct. The district court found that P had presented enough evidence to show that Ds had undertaken a duty to ensure safe racing conditions, including adequate fire protection, during the practice session at Lakeside Speedway. The jury found for P, assessing damages of $ 1,215,000. World of Outlaws (D) argues that the district court erred in denying its motion for judgment as a matter of law because it is merely a sanctioning body for sprint car races, and that as such, it owed no duty to provide or ensure adequate fire protection for sprint car drivers. The district court ruled that there was sufficient evidence to show that World of Outlaws (D) owed a duty to P to ensure safe racing conditions on the day of the crash. Ds appealed.