Summary
The Utah Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment against Lisa Penunuri and Barry Siegwart on their gross-negligence claims arising from a guided horseback ride at Sundance Resort. The court repudiated the requirement that the applicable standard of care be fixed by law before summary judgment may be granted on a gross-negligence claim, holding instead that summary judgment is proper when reasonable minds could reach only one conclusion regarding gross negligence. The court also affirmed the award of certain deposition costs to Sundance.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether summary judgment may be granted against a gross-negligence claim when the applicable standard of care is not fixed by law.
- Whether the undisputed facts permitted reasonable minds to conclude that Sundance's guide was grossly negligent.
- Whether the district court properly awarded Sundance the costs of depositions used in support of its summary-judgment motions.
Holdings
- A standard of care need not be fixed by law for summary judgment to be granted against a gross-negligence claim. Summary judgment is appropriate when reasonable minds could reach only one conclusion that the defendant was not grossly negligent under the circumstances.
- The undisputed facts permitted only one conclusion: the guide was not grossly negligent. The evidence could at most support ordinary negligence, not conduct involving failure to exercise even slight care or carelessness or recklessness showing utter indifference to the consequences.
- A district court has discretion to award deposition costs to the prevailing party when the depositions were taken in good faith and, in light of the circumstances, appeared essential to the development and presentation of the case. The district court did not abuse its discretion here.
Key quotations
“We clarify that summary judgment dismissing a gross negligence claim is appropriate where reasonable minds could only conclude that the defendant was not grossly negligent under the circumstances, regardless of whether the standard of care is fixed by law.” (¶ 16)
“So long as the district court is “persuaded that [the depositions] were taken in good faith and, in the light of the circumstances, appeared to be essential for the development and presentation of the case,” the court has discretion to award those costs to the prevailing party.” (¶ 43)
“We repudiate the holdings of our prior cases that treated the requirement that the standard of care be “fixed by law” as a prerequisite to summary judgment.” (¶ 45)
Factual background
In August 2007, Lisa Penunuri fell from her horse and was injured during a guided horseback trail ride at Sundance Resort. The guide led the group and attempted to keep the riders together, but Penunuri and an eight-year-old rider had difficulty preventing their horses from grazing, causing the group to develop a gap of more than 100 feet. As the guide turned toward a clearing to return for the slower rider, Penunuri fell. Penunuri had signed a release describing the inherent risks of horseback riding, and the district court later found no evidence that the guide's conduct showed the extreme indifference necessary for gross negligence.
Procedural history
Penunuri and Siegwart sued Sundance-related defendants for ordinary and gross negligence after Penunuri was injured during a guided horseback ride. The district court dismissed the ordinary-negligence claims, and that ruling was affirmed. On remand, the district court granted summary judgment against the gross-negligence claims and awarded Sundance deposition costs. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, and the Utah Supreme Court granted certiorari on the summary-judgment and deposition-cost issues.