Defense Verdict for Stevens Pass Ski Resort

Ruth Nielsen and Brian Augenthaler won a trial on behalf of Stevens Pass Ski Resort and a lift operator in King County Superior Court. The lawsuit was filed by a child that fell off the Kehr’s Chair chairlift, breaking his wrists. At trial, the young plaintiff claimed the lift operator (who was named personally) was not at the lift controls, so that when he failed to seat himself properly, he was allowed to travel past the end of the exit ramp and high into the air. Stevens Pass and the lift operator argued that it was the young plaintiff’s responsibility to seat himself, that the lift operator was at the controls, and she hit the stop button as soon as she was alerted to the problem by the young plaintiff’s mother. After a six-day jury trial, the jury reached a unanimous decision in favor of Stevens Pass in less than two hours. Good work, Ruth and Brian!