Small v. Riding High Dude Ranch, Inc.

Summary

The Appellate Division, Third Department affirmed the denial of defendant's motion for summary judgment in a personal injury action arising from horseback riding. The court held that factual questions remained as to whether a wrangler's allegedly excessive force in assisting plaintiff to mount a horse unreasonably increased the inherent risks of horseback riding. The court also concluded that plaintiff presented sufficient circumstantial evidence of proximate cause to avoid summary judgment.

Holdings

1. Primary assumption of risk does not bar summary judgment against a horseback-riding plaintiff where the alleged injury resulted from the manner in which the defendant's employee assisted with mounting and the evidence raises a question whether that conduct unreasonably enhanced the activity's inherent risks.
2. A plaintiff may establish proximate cause through circumstantial evidence when the evidence makes alternative causes sufficiently remote to permit a jury to draw a logical inference, and need not exclude every other possible cause of the injury.

Questions Presented

1. Whether primary assumption of risk barred Small's claim as a matter of law.
2. Whether evidence that the wrangler used excessive force or an unapproved mounting technique created a triable issue as to whether defendant unreasonably enhanced the inherent risks of horseback riding.
3. Whether Small's proof of causation was impermissibly speculative such that defendant was entitled to summary judgment.

Disposition

affirmed