McKAY, Circuit Judge.
Plaintiff Kimberly Squires filed this diversity action against Defendant Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center asserting claims for negligence and gross negligence following a ski accident in which she was injured. The magistrate judge granted Defendant's motion for summary judgment in part, concluding Plaintiff's mother, Sara Squires, had validly released any claim for negligence against Defendant by signing an acknowledgment of risk and release of liability. Plaintiff now appeals, arguing summary judgment was inappropriate because the Release is unenforceable for three reasons: (1) the Release is as an invalid exculpatory agreement; (2) Mrs. Squires's decision to sign the Release was not voluntary and informed, as required by
In 2008, Plaintiff, a legally blind child with cerebral palsy and cognitive delays, was severely injured while skiing at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado. Plaintiff was in Breckenridge on a ski trip with the group Camp Fire USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing children, including children with disabilities, with opportunities and experiences for growth. Camp Fire USA had contracted with Defendant for a five-day wilderness program that included skiing, a ropes course, and snow tubing.
Before the trip, Defendant sent documents regarding the trip to Camp Fire USA, which in turn circulated them to the participants' parents, including Mrs. Squires. The documents included a "Letter to Students, Parents and Guardians" (App. at 209 (capitalization omitted)) with an accompanying "Acknowledg[]ment of Risk & Release of Liability" (App. at 210 (capitalization omitted)).
(App. at 209.)
The accompanying Release provides:
(App. at 210.)
Plaintiff and her mother signed the Release on January 13, 2008. On that date, Mrs. Squires was admittedly aware that her daughter's trip to Breckenridge and participation in Defendant's program
Following the accident, Plaintiff filed this action claiming Defendant's negligence and gross negligence caused her injuries. Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing the Release barred Plaintiff's negligence claim and there was no evidence to support her gross negligence claim. The magistrate judge granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff's negligence claim, concluding Plaintiff's mother had executed an enforceable exculpatory agreement that clearly and unambiguously expressed the parties' intent to extinguish Defendant's liability, and her decision to do so was voluntary and informed. The magistrate judge, however, denied Defendant's motion on Plaintiff's gross negligence claim. This claim proceeded to a jury, which found Defendant not liable. Plaintiff now appeals the grant of summary judgment on her negligence claim.
"We review a district court's decision to grant summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court." Lundstrom v. Romero, 616 F.3d 1108, 1118 (10th Cir.2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). Summary judgment is appropriate if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). Colorado law applies in this diversity case.
Plaintiff argues the Release is unenforceable and, therefore, does not bar her negligence claim. She reasons that the Release is invalid under the four-part test articulated in Jones v. Dressel, 623 P.2d 370 (Colo.1981), and that her mother did not make an informed decision, as required by Colorado Revised Statute Section 13-22-107.
In Colorado, "[a]greements attempting to exculpate a party from that party's own negligence have long been disfavored." Heil Valley Ranch, Inc. v. Simkin, 784 P.2d 781, 783 (Colo.1989). However, "[e]xculpatory agreements are not necessarily void." Id. at 784. In determining whether an exculpatory agreement is valid, Colorado courts consider four factors: "(1) the existence of a duty to the public; (2) the nature of the service performed; (3) whether the contract was fairly entered into; and (4) whether the intention of the parties is expressed in clear and unambiguous language." Jones, 623 P.2d at 376. Plaintiff challenges only the magistrate judge's conclusion on the fourth factor.
Under the fourth factor, "use of the specific terms `negligence' and `breach of warranty' are not invariably required for an exculpatory agreement to shield a party from claims based on negligence and breach of warranty." Heil Valley, 784 P.2d at 785. Rather, "[t]he inquiry should be whether the intent of the parties was to extinguish liability and whether this intent was clearly and unambiguously expressed." Id. In making this determination,
The Release signed by Plaintiff and her mother clearly and unambiguously waives any negligence claims Plaintiff might have brought against Defendant. The Release begins by indicating it is signed "[i]n consideration of being allowed to participate in any way in Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) programs, and related events and activities." (App. at 104.) It then warns that "it is impossible for the BOEC to guarantee absolute safety," and identifies the potential risk of "loss or damage to personal property, injury, permanent disability, [and] fatality." (Id.) The Release concludes, after only five short paragraphs, by stating in plain terms that the signor "hereby release[s] the BOEC, its successors, representatives, assigns, and employees from any and all claims, demands and causes of action, whether resulting from negligence or otherwise, of every nature and in conjunction with a BOEC activity." (Id. (emphasis added).) We perceive no ambiguity in this language. See Mincin v. Vail Holdings, Inc., 308 F.3d 1105, 1113 (10th Cir.2002) ("The agreement covers `any and all claims I might state ... including those claims based on negligence or breach of warranty.'... There is nothing ambiguous about this portion of the agreement." (first alteration in original)).
Plaintiff, however, contends the Release does not satisfy the fourth Jones factor because it failed to include that Plaintiff would be skiing using a bi-ski and failed to disclose specific risks associated with this form of adaptive skiing. She argues that Colorado law requires the Release to identify the specific activity being engaged in and describe specific associated risks. In support of this position, Plaintiff quotes from several other releases that have been upheld and claims it was their adequate detailing of risks that led the courts to conclude they were valid under the fourth Jones factor. However, even though the releases quoted by Plaintiff contain more detailed descriptions of the associated risks, their validity did not turn on this fact. Notably, none of the cases Plaintiff relies on evaluated the sufficiency of the description of the risks.
Contrary to Plaintiff's argument, Colorado law does not require that exculpatory agreements refer to the specific activity in which the plaintiff participated and was injured. See Forman v. Brown, 944 P.2d 559, 563-64 (Colo.App.1996) (concluding a release that did not mention the specific activity in which the plaintiff was injured was nevertheless valid because it "unambiguously released defendants from liability for injuries occurring during associated scheduled or unscheduled activities"); Brooks v. Timberline Tours, Inc., 127 F.3d 1273, 1274-75 (10th Cir.1997) (concluding a release that did not include the specific activity and referred only to "the activity I am about to voluntarily engage in" was valid under Jones). Nor does it require "that an exculpatory agreement describe in detail each specific risk that the signor might encounter. Rather, an exculpatory agreement bars a claim if the agreement clearly reflects the parties' intent to extinguish liability for that type of claim." Lahey v. Covington, 964 F.Supp. 1440, 1445 (D.Colo.1996), aff'd sub nom. Lahey v. Twin Lakes Expeditions, Inc., No. 96-1438, 1997 WL 265093 (10th Cir. May 20, 1997) (unpublished) (citation omitted). The Release clearly reflects precisely such an intent — Plaintiff and her mother agreed, "[i]n consideration of being
Plaintiff additionally argues the Release is ambiguous because it does not specifically release claims resulting from the negligence of third parties, such as the skier who collided with Plaintiff, and because it inconsistently allocates risks between herself and Defendant. Plaintiff raises her first theory of ambiguity for the first time on appeal. Because this argument was not properly preserved, we do not consider it. Lyons v. Jefferson Bank & Trust, 994 F.2d 716, 721 (10th Cir.1993) ("[A] party may not lose in the district court on one theory of the case, and then prevail on appeal on a different theory."). Turning then to Plaintiff's second theory of ambiguity, we agree with the magistrate judge's conclusion that the Release is not reasonably susceptible to her interpretation, which strains logic. Plaintiff specifically argues the portion of the Release that releases Defendant from liability is rendered ambiguous by the following sentence: "I understand that I share the responsibility for safety during all activities, and I assume that responsibility." (App. at 104.) She contends that by "discussing two alternate allocations of risk in the same document, the Release does not clearly and unambiguously express the intent of the parties, and thus, is unenforceable." (Appellant's Opening Br. at 23.) However, these two provisions create no such ambiguity. The sentence on which Plaintiff relies clearly expresses the participant's agreement to share in the responsibility of participating in a safe manner, whereas the release provision clearly expresses the participant's intent to release Defendant from liability. As the magistrate judge concluded, the two are not mutually exclusive, and the first provision makes it no less clear that Plaintiff's mother intended to release Defendant from liability for any negligence claim.
Because the Release contains clear and unambiguous language demonstrating Plaintiff's mother intended to release any negligence claims Plaintiff might have against Defendant, it is valid and enforceable under Jones.
We turn then to whether Mrs. Squires's consent to the Release was voluntary and informed, as required by Section 13-22-107. Plaintiff argues it was not because her mother did not understand the risks involved with adaptive skiing and, specifically, the use of bi-skis.
In 2002, the Colorado Supreme Court held "that Colorado's public policy disallows a parent or guardian to execute exculpatory provisions on behalf of his minor child for a prospective claim based on negligence." Cooper v. Aspen Skiing Co., 48 P.3d 1229, 1237 (Colo.2002), superseded by statute, Colo.Rev.Stat. § 13-22-107(3). The following year, the General Assembly superseded Cooper through enactment of Section 13-22-107(3). Under this section, "[a] parent of a child may, on behalf of the child, release or waive the child's prospective claim for negligence." Colo.Rev.Stat. § 13-22-107(3). The statute "declare[s] that parents have a fundamental right to make decisions on behalf of their children, including deciding whether the children should participate in risky activities." Wycoff v. Grace Cmty. Church of the Assemblies of God, 251 P.3d 1260, 1264 (Colo. App.2010). "So long as the decision is voluntary and informed, the decision should be given the same dignity as decisions
The Colorado Court of Appeals has "assume[d] that the General Assembly was aware of the Jones test when it enacted section 13-22-107(1)(a)(V), but required something more for the waiver of a minor's prospective negligence claims." Hamill v. Cheley Colo. Camps, Inc., 262 P.3d 945, 952 (Colo.App.2011) (citation omitted). In addition to the Jones factors, "[t]he General Assembly required that the consent to waiver by a parent be `voluntary and informed.'" Id. "A parent's decision is informed when the parent has sufficient information to assess the potential degree of risks involved, and the extent of possible injury." Id.
Since the enactment of Section 13-22-107, the Colorado Supreme Court has not addressed whether a release satisfies the voluntary and informed requirement of Section 13-22-107(1)(a)(V). We must therefore attempt to predict how Colorado's highest court would interpret this Section. See FDIC v. Schuchmann, 235 F.3d 1217, 1225 (10th Cir.2000). In doing so, we "consider ... cases from the Colorado Court of Appeals only as they may aid our ability to predict how the Colorado Supreme Court might decide." Browning v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 396 Fed.Appx. 496, 502 n. 14 (10th Cir.2010).
The Colorado Court of Appeals has twice considered whether a parent's consent to release prospective negligence claims on behalf of a minor child was voluntary and informed, as required by Section 13-22-107(1)(a)(V). On the first occasion, the Colorado Court of Appeals determined it "need not set forth ... precisely how much information is required for a parental release to satisfy the statute" because "[t]here is no information in [the] one-page registration form describing the event activities, much less their associated risks." Wycoff, 251 P.3d at 1264. There, the plaintiff was injured while being towed in an innertube behind an ATV on a frozen lake as part of her participation in a three-day event called "Winterama 2005." Id. at 1263. Before attending the event, the plaintiff's mother signed a one-page registration and information form, which contained a purported release in the following paragraph:
Id. (emphasis and correction in original). Although the plaintiff knew the Winterama activities would include riding on an ATV-towed innertube, her mother did not. The court concluded that the mother's waiver was not informed because the registration and information form did "not indicate what the activities would involve and certainly d[id] not suggest they would include ATV-towed inner-tube excursions around a frozen lake." Id. at 1264. As a result, there was no information from which the plaintiff's parents could "assess the degree of risk and the extent of possible injuries" from her participation in Winterama. Id. at 1265.
Shortly after the Wycoff decision, the Colorado Court of Appeals again addressed whether a parent's consent to release prospective negligence claims on behalf of her child was informed. Borrowing from the language used in Wycoff, the court began by stating, "A parent's decision is informed when the parent has sufficient
The court then turned to whether the plaintiff's mother was provided with sufficient information "to assess the extent of possible injuries to [her daughter]." Id. In making this determination, the court again considered both the language of the release and the plaintiff's mother's independent knowledge and experience. The release contained broad language waiving "any claims of liability, for any injury, even death." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). The plaintiff's mother was further aware that Christopher Reeve, whom she knew personally, had been injured falling off a horse, and was therefore "aware that there were significant risks associated with horseback riding." Id. The court thus concluded that the agreement adequately disclosed the extent of potential injuries; it "did not need to include an exhaustive list of particularized injury scenarios to be effective." Id.
Before turning to whether Plaintiff's mother's consent to release prospective negligence claims against Defendant was informed, we must first address the scope of the evidence we may consider in making this determination. The Colorado courts have yet to specifically address this issue. In Wycoff, the court "assume[d] for purposes of th[e] case that a facially deficient exculpatory contract could be cured by extrinsic evidence." 251 P.3d at 1264. Relying on this statement, Plaintiff contends our evaluation under Section 13-22-107(1)(a)(V) must be limited to the four corners of the Release unless we first determine that the Release itself is facially deficient, in which case the Release would be invalid under Jones. Defendant, on the other hand, maintains we may properly consider the Letter that accompanied the Release as well as Mrs. Squires's actual knowledge on the day she signed the Release.
Considering this evidence, we conclude Mrs. Squires's decision to release Plaintiff's prospective negligence claims against Defendant was informed. Mrs. Squires had sufficient information from which to evaluate the degree of risk Plaintiff faced. She admittedly knew "when she signed the document ... that her daughter was going on a ski trip." (App. at 139.) The Letter addressed to the students and their parents specifically referred to "[y]our ski lesson" (App. at 209), and the accompanying participant application identified "Sit-Down" and "Bi-ski" as among the "Adaptive Ski Method[s]" (App. at 410) offered by Defendant. The Letter further informed Mrs. Squires that Plaintiff's "ski lesson ... will involve risk, which may be greater than most people encounter in their daily lives." (App. at 209.) The Release reaffirmed that "it is impossible for BOEC to guarantee absolute safety," and warned that in addition to the "risks during outdoor programs," including "falling," "there may be other risks not known... or not reasonable foreseeable at this time." (App. at 210.) After receiving this information, Mrs. Squires did not contact Defendant to discuss the Release and did not inquire as to the risks that were going to be involved with the ski trip. Although Mrs. Squires "may not have contemplated the precise mechanics of her daughter's fall," including the precise mechanics of skiing with a bi-ski, this fact "does not invalidate the release." Hamill, 262 P.3d at 953. Like the mother in Hamill, Mrs. Squires "knew her daughter would be [skiing] and she was advised that there were risks, known and unknown, associated with the activity." Id.
Mrs. Squires likewise had sufficient information from which to assess the extent
We conclude the Release satisfies both the Jones test and the voluntary and informed requirement of Section 13-22-107 and is, therefore, enforceable.
Plaintiff argues in the alternative that even if the Release is enforceable, it should nevertheless be set aside because it was procured through fraud.
Barfield v. Hall Realty, Inc., 232 P.3d 286, 290 (Colo.App.2010). Furthermore, "[t]he misrepresentation must be made with the intent to deceive." Club Valencia Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Valencia Assocs., 712 P.2d 1024, 1026 (Colo.App.1985).
Plaintiff contends the Letter, which accompanied the Release, contained three fraudulent misrepresentations: (1) "All of [Defendant's] activities are conducted in a manner consistent with the highest standards, as defined by the Association for Experiential Education (AEE)"; (2) "The BOEC is accredited by AEE"; and (3) AEE "independently reviews the policies, practices and educational components of applicant organizations and accredits those that meet their high standards." (App. at 209.) However, Plaintiff has offered no evidence that statements two and three were false; that is, Plaintiff has pointed to no evidence that Defendant, generally, was not accredited by AEE or that AEE does not perform the functions described in statement three. Plaintiff's argument then, hinges on the allegedly fraudulent misrepresentation in the first statement.
Plaintiff maintains the first statement constitutes a fraudulent misrepresentation because AEE does not have standards for
For the foregoing reasons, we