Court of Appeals Upholds Rental Release
NAME: Matthew Burchard v Treetops Acquisition Company, LLC
COURT / JUDGE: Otsego County Circuit Court; Michigan Court of Appeals
ATTORNEYS:
Plaintiff: Gregg Herman of Gregg E. Herman, P.C. & Mark Bendure of Bendure & Thomas, PLC
Defendant: Kailen C. Piper & David Carbajal, O'Neill, Wallace & Doyle, P.C.
ISSUED: March 14, 2024
INTRODUCTION
On March 14, 2024, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the Otsego County Circuit Court's Order granting summary disposition to the Defendant, Treetops Acquisition Company, LLC ("Treetops") for a lawsuit from a golf cart accident on the par-three course called "Threetops," at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan. The trial court and the Court of Appeals agreed that Plaintiff knowingly and fairly executed a valid waiver of liability, thereby dismissing Plaintiff's negligence, premises liability, breach of contract, and fraud claims. Although the waiver did not apply to the gross negligence claim, the Court of Appeals agreed that the gross negligence claim should also be dismissed because the Plaintiff failed to put forth sufficient evidence for a jury that Defendants were grossly negligence when there was evidence of precautionary measures by Treetops to ensure the safety of its guests. Therefore, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's dismissal of Plaintiff's gross negligence claim.
ANALYSIS
On May 4, 2019, Plaintiff, Matthew Burchard, was with fifteen (15) other people were golfing at the par three "Threetops" golf course. Plaintiff's group of golfers signed a "Golf Cart Rental Agreement" that included language waiving any claim for injuries and advising golfers of the dangers of the golf cart overturning on the resort's terrain, including hills, slopes, and grade changes. .
The Plaintiff's group was also advised to apply the brake when going down the hills and to use the gas pedal to release the brakes if they locked up. Plaintiff sustained injuries when he lost control of the golf cart and sued Treetops for negligence, gross negligence, premises liability, breach of contract, and fraud claims. Plaintiff subsequently appealed the trial court's Order granting Treetops' Motion for Summary Disposition.
On appeal, Plaintiff argued that the trial court erred in finding that the Golf Cart Rental Agreement was a valid release of liability and that Defendant was not grossly negligent. The Court rejected Plaintiff's arguments to invalidate the release, stating that a release does not need to be signed by the party being released if it clearly shows on its face that it was not intended to be signed by a representative of Defendant to be valid. Furthermore, the Court held that the release was knowingly made because the release referred to the condition of the land, including hills, slopes, and grade changes. Although Plaintiff was not presented with the release until after he paid for his round of golf, there was no evidence in the record that suggested Plaintiff would not have been able to receive a refund if he refused to sign the release or that Treetops pressured him into it.
Concerning gross negligence, the Court held that Treetops showed sufficient concern for the safety of its customers, with regular golf cart inspections and warnings. Moreover, there was no evidence in the record that the golf cart at issue was defective in any manner whatsoever. In light of these precautionary measures, there was insufficient evidence to establish that Treetops was grossly negligent, and the Court rejected Plaintiff's argument that Treetops violated industry standards because ignorance of and a failure to implement industry standards does not constitute gross negligence under Michigan law.
Although this is an unpublished opinion, this case presents a sound legal analysis from the Court of Appeals with respect to liability waivers and claims involving gross negligence.