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Staten v. Superior Court5/31/1996
KING, J.
In this case we apply Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal. 4th 296 [11 Cal. Rptr. 2d 2, 834 P.2d 696] to the sport of figure skating. We conclude that being cut by the blade of another skater during a group skating session is an inherent risk of the sport. The injured skater cannot recover for personal injuries under the doctrine of primary assumption of risk.
Petitioners are the various defendants in a personal injury action brought by real party in interest, plaintiff Marie Bafus, who was cut on the arm when she collided with another figure skater, petitioner Mary Staten. Petitioners moved for summary judgment on the ground that Knight barred real party's recovery. The superior court denied the motion, and petitioners seek writ review. Having issued an order to show cause in lieu of an alternative writ and heard oral argument, we issue the peremptory writ of mandate to compel the superior court to grant summary judgment in petitioners' favor.
I. FACTS
Real party in interest Marie Bafus is an experienced and accomplished amateur figure skater. She began skating when she was three or four years old and has skated competitively since the age of eleven. Bafus, who was 16 at the time of the accident giving rise to this litigation, aspired to Olympic competition or a career with the Ice Capades. She knew that skate blades were sharp, and that falls and collisions with other skaters were among the risks of figure skating. She knew skating carried with it a risk of personal injury .
Bafus practiced at Berkeley Iceland, a skating rink owned by East Bay Iceland, Inc. She was a member of the St. Moritz Skating Club, which rented the rink at specified times when the rink would exclude the public and allow only the club members to skate.
During one of the skating club's practice sessions, at which there were about 10 skaters skating freestyle around the ice for a 45-minute period, defendant Mary Staten, also a club member and aspiring figure skater, was practicing an "outward backward spiral." This maneuver required Staten to skate backwards on the ice with one leg extended and roughly parallel to the ice. While skating backward Staten collided with Bafus, who was in a stationary position practicing 360-degree spins. Bafus instinctively raised her arm when she saw Staten coming, and was cut on the arm by the blade of Staten's elevated skate.
Bafus sued Staten; her parents, John and Katrina Staten; the St. Moritz Skating Club; and East Bay Iceland, Inc. The defendants moved for summary judgment on the ground of primary assumption of risk. The trial court denied the motion, specifically ruling there was a triable issue of material fact on the question whether such an injury as suffered by the plaintiff was an inherent risk in figure skating. In reaching its ruling the trial court, over defense objection, relied on the declaration of an expert figure skater, who stated his opinion that being cut by the blade of a skater performing a backward spiral is not an inherent risk of the sport. The expert opined: "a backward spiral requires the use of care to look in the direction that one is going to travel, before the travel begins, to make sure that the ice is free of objects such as walls, etc., including people. The failure to do so is negligent on the part of the skater."
II. DISCUSSION
Motivated by a desire to clarify the law of assumption of risk in California, the Supreme Court decided Knight and its companion case, Ford v. Gouin (1992) 3 Cal. 4th 339 [11 Cal. Rptr. 2d 30, 834 P.2d 724, 34 A.L.R.5th 769]. Although neither opinion commanded a clear majority of the court, Knight has become the operative s
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