RE: Montana: A Lawyer's Challenge

["Bob Morris" <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

Joane:

I am very interested in this happening as I am on the AERC Rules Committee
(Have been for over a decade) and am concerned with the ultimate fall out.

Considering your challenge:

First the Riders; Montana's EQUINE ACTIVITY STATUTE covers the sport of
endurance riding, though here-in called Endurance Trail Riding. The Riders
are for the sake of the statute called out as participants. The participants
are required by statute to act in a safe and responsible manner at all times
to avoid injury to the participant and others and to be aware of the risks
inherent in equine activities. Racing for the finish in an endurance
competition is an expected occurrence and not unusual. It will be
acknowledged by those participating that immediate response to slowing,
turning or stopping is not practical or safe. (Likened to the same actions
of an ocean liner)

Second the Management; Here-in called the Equine Activity Sponsor. It
appears that the Sponsor's (Ride Manager) covered liability protection is
limited to that of the participant. No coverage for non-participant. (why in
Idaho we have signs at our barn stating any one in the proximity is
considered to be engaged in the equine activity in progress). In fact there
is an exclusion from protection for the Sponsor in 27-1-727/3 (iv) committed
an act or omission that constituted willful or wanton disregard for the
safety of the participant and the act or omission caused the injury;

The lack of control of vehicles in the finish area constituted a definite
disregard for the safety of the riders causing them to deviate from a safe
course and thus being a proximate cause of the accident.

Now, I am not positive that Jim was participating in the endurance ride and
had pulled or retired from the ride for some other reason. But, speculating
that he HAD BEEN a participant, he would still not be covered nor the
sponsor relieved of liability, as being pulled or retiring for what ever
reason places him in a category of not being a participant at the time of
the occurrence.

I am interested  in your comments.

Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID

-----Original Message-----
From:	Joane Pappas White [mailto:Lyoness@Castlenet.com]
Sent:	Tuesday, September 21, 1999 1:22 PM
To:	Ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject:	RC:  Montana: A Lawyer's Challenge

Ridecampers,

Last week I accidentally mismailed to you a note intented for my riding
instructor about accidents in Eventing.  Many of you emailed to say you
appreciated the information.  That information seems particularly
significant in light of the Montana accident. The point of the article
forwarded by my instructor was that the Eventing world needed to
evaluate their accidents and seek solutions or they could find their
sport at great risk from liability suits.

I have been reading your responses to the Montana accidents carefully.
Like all people, you are being affected by the presentation of facts.
As each new fact has been introduced, your evaluation of the accident
has changed. This is why juries are instructed not to allow themselves
to reach any conclusions until all the facts are in and until they have
been fully instructed in the law by the judge.


How many of you read the Montana Equine Liability Statute before you
thought about lawsuits or claims?   I would encourage you to do so and
then we can continue this discussion, not to establish responsibility or
to discuss the specific people as that is counterproductive, but in the
format of a hypothetical case, let's explore how the statute affects
each group of people involved in an equine accident. I think you will be
surprised by the outcome of this process and I know your thoughts on how
to avoid similiar accidents will be a benefit to our sport.

The statute can be found at:  http://www.equispec.com/statute/mt.htm

Print it out so you can refer back to it as we discuss issues.

Joane Pappas White
Attorney at Law
Price, Utah


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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=