Securing a waiver of liability is a necessity for many businesses, such as health clubs, who offer customers the ability to participate in risky activities.  Recently, a New Jersey appellate court found that such a waiver is only enforceable when the injury was caused by such dangerous activities, and not to unrelated general negligence.

In Walters v. YMCA, plaintiff was injured when he slipped on stairs leading from the YMCA’s indoor pool. Slip- resistant treads had been affixed to the stairs, but the tread on the bottom stair had worn away causing the plaintiff to slip and fall. The YMCA turned to the membership agreement that included a waiver of liability as an absolute defense and moved for summary judgment. Finding that the agreement encompassed the plaintiff’s accident, the trial court granted the YMCA’s motion.

The Appellate Court discussed the precedent on the enforceability of waivers in fitness club membership agreements. The lynchpin of enforceability, the Court found, was the nature of the activity in which a plaintiff was injured. The leading case, Stelluti v. Casapenn Enterprises, held that a malfunctioning spin bike was an inherent risk attendant to participating in the fitness club’s spinning class and upheld the waiver of liability. What Stelluti did not address, and what proved to be a key issue in Walters, was the basic common law duty of care owed by all businesses to their invitees.

Unlike the spin bike malfunction in Stelluti, the plaintiff’s injury here did not occur while using any of the fitness equipment or participating in any activities offered by the YMCA.  The Court thus determined that to hold the waiver enforceable would eliminate the YMCA’s common law duty to “provide a safe environment for that which is in the scope of the invitation.”

In reversing the trial court’s decision, the Appellate Court reasoned that fitness clubs could fairly require their members to waive liability to a certain degree, but a blanket waiver intended to encompass any possible injury on the club’s premises is an unenforceable contract of adhesion as it ignores the club’s basic duty to provide a safe environment. In holding the membership agreement’s waiver of liability unenforceable, the matter was remanded to the trial court to entertain the plaintiff’s negligence claim.

Thanks to Emily Kidder for her contribution to this post.  For more information, please write to Mike Bono.