Bagley v. Mt. Bachelor, Inc.: A New Direction for the Enforceability of Sports Waivers?

Abstract

Abstract In Bagley v. Mt. Bachelor, Inc., the Oregon Supreme Court considered a topic of widespread, daily significance – the enforceability of tort waivers in the context of sports and recreation. Although these Sports Waivers vary considerably in their precise form and deployment, they function primarily to release organizers and providers of sports and recreation from claims of negligence. Almost every adult has signed such a waiver. Indeed, such waivers are so common that one might fairly think that (assuming the waivers are enforceable) the typical sports or recreation provider faces little to no accountability for its own negligence. Bagley stands out among recent cases because it opened new directions for how to evaluate and draft Sports Waivers.