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WRIGHT v. MIDWEST OLD SETTLERS12/18/1996
Id. at 720.
In Gunther v. Smith, 78 Md. App. 508, 553 A.2d 1314, 1316 (1989), the plaintiff was injured after he was thrown from a wagon during a hayride. The plaintiff claimed the defendants, as owners and operators of the wagon, were common carriers and owed a heightened duty of care for their safety. Id. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals, however, ruled that the defendants offered the ride for the entertainment of persons attending a private party on private premises and were therefore not common carriers. Id.; see also Pessl v. Bridger Bowl, 164 Mont. 389, 524 P.2d 1101 (1974) (ski lift operator not a common carrier and therefore expected to exercise ordinary care); but see Summit County Dev. Corp. v. Bagnoli, 166 Colo. 27, 441 P.2d 658 (1968) (holding that ski lift operator was a common carrier and assigned to exercise the highest degree of care).
In Lamb v. B & B Amusements Corp., 869 P.2d 926 (Utah 1993), the plaintiff sued the owner of an amusement park after she was injured while riding a roller coaster. The Utah Supreme Court ruled that the amusement park operator was not a common carrier because patrons of his business expected entertainment and did not have the expectation of being transported safely and securely. Id. at 930. The court ruled that "the care required of amusement ride operators is the care that reasonably prudent persons would exercise under the circumstances." Id. at 931.
Finally, in Webster v. Ebright, 3 Cal.App.4th 784, 4 Cal.Rptr.2d 714 (1992), the plaintiff sued the owner of a horse stable after she sustained injuries while riding a rented horse. The plaintiff alleged the owner of the stable was a common carrier. 4 Cal.Rptr.2d at 715. The California Court of Appeals ruled that the owner of the horse was not a common carrier and was expected to exercise no more than ordinary care and prudence. 4 Cal.Rptr.2d at 720.
We conclude from our review of the above authorities and our own analysis of the issue that where a person or organization [556 NW2d Page 812]
undertakes to conduct an event for a limited period of time and provides a mode of transportation in and around this event for the amusement and comfort of the attendees, that person or organization will not be considered a common carrier subject to the highest degree of care in the operation of the service or facility. See Foust v. Kinley, 254 Iowa 690, 117 N.W.2d 843 (1962) (holding the proprietor of a place of public amusement subject to the exercise of ordinary and reasonable care). Because we find that this was the nature of the defendants' activities, plaintiffs were not entitled to an instruction on a higher standard of care. The district court did not err in refusing to instruct the jury on the duty of a common carrier. The district court's judgment is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
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