Vail ski resort knew that avalanche danger was high enough in 2012 that it should have closed a trail gate, a judge has ruled, and now the ski resort could have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the parents of a 13-year-old skier who died on the run.
Taft Conlin’s parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against The Vail Corp., claiming the resort violated the Colorado Ski Safety Act when it closed the upper access to the Prima Cornice run but did not close the lower entrance. Filed in July 2012, the lawsuit claims that by failing to close the lower gate, Vail allowed Taft to ski into a “death trap” within the resort’s boundaries.
If the case goes to trial, it would be the first case involving a fatal inbounds avalanche to go before a Colorado jury.
The case moved one step closer to trial this week after Broomfield County District Court Judge Chris Melonakis found that Vail officials knew there was a high avalanche danger on Jan. 22, 2012, the day Taft died.
The judge rejected the resort’s claim that it did not know skiers were accessing the upper portion of the trail from the lower gate and found that by failing to close that gate the resort “evinced an indifference or reckless disregard to the health and safety of others.”
As a result of the ruling, a jury now may award the Conlin family punitive damages — making the family eligible to receive more than $700,000 in both punitive and compensatory costs. The family has said it will donate any money it receives to charity.
“They weren’t just negligent here, they were reckless,” said Jim Heckbert, who is representing the family. “They committed this act they must have realized was dangerous and without regard to the consequences.”
Robert Blume, the attorney representing Vail, says Melonakis’ ruling is “purely procedural” and does not prove that the “damages are warranted or appropriate.”
“This case remains very simply about a young skier’s tragic decision to take an inappropriate risk and hike far into closed terrain,” Blume said in a statement. “That decision is not something for which Vail Resorts or its employees can or should be held responsible.”
This isn’t the first time a judge has found enough evidence to prove Vail’s reckless actions caused the death of a young skier.
In 2007, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Vail acted recklessly and a jury could award punitive damages to Ashley Stamp’s family. Ashley, 13, was a ski racer who was struck by an employee-driven snowmobile at Vail ski area in December 2004.
The snowmobile was traveling 25 mph when it came over a knoll and collided with Ashley, who was warming up for a race.
Heckbert also represented the Stamp family in that case. The family sued the resort, and the case settled out of court in 2008, after the Supreme Court decision.
A trial date has not been set in the Conlin case. The case is being handled in Broomfield County, where Vail’s headquarters are located.
Vail repeatedly argues that it closed only the top gate for more than a decade and had no incidents. The resort has since changed its practice and now closes both gates.
But Heckbert argues the resort knew it was a long-standing practice for skiers to hike into the trail from the lower gate — several people have testified that they hiked into the trail the morning before Taft died.
“This is the kind of evidence you need to have if you want to put somebody to death,” Heckbert said.
Heckbert also argues that Vail altered its reports to show that avalanche mitigation was performed hours before Taft died. The resort denies that claim.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp
