Jessica Hawkins v. Blair Peart

1 Defendant Navajo Trails required plaintiff Jessica Hawkins's mother to sign a release form prior to allowing Hawkins to ride one of its horses. The release form contained a waiver of liability and an indemnity provision. The district court invalidated the waiver provision on public policy grounds, but upheld the indemnity provision. Hawkins appeals the district court's decision upholding the indemnity clause, and Navajo Trails cross-appeals the court's invalidation of the waiver provision. We conclude that both the waiver provision and the indemnity provision are invalid. Thus, we affirm the district court's ruling as to the release provision, but reverse as to the indemnity provision.

Background

2 In July 1997, eleven-year-old Hawkins went to Duck Creek, Utah, for a family reunion. As part of the reunion, members of the family arranged for Navajo Trails to provide horses and guides for a trail ride. As a condition of its service, Navajo Trails required Hawkins's mother to sign a "Release Form." In pertinent part, that form stated as follows:

Riding and handling horses can be DANGEROUS. This form must be completed and signed before you can ride . . . . By signing this form, you agree to ASSUME THE RISK of any injury, death, or loss, or damage which you or your child . . . may suffer . . . . In consideration for the rendering of trail riding . . . service by Navajo Trails . . . [t]he undersigned on behalf of himself or for any person for whom he or she is a parent or legal guardian, does hereby indemnify (reimburse), release, and forever hold harmless, Navajo Trails . . . [for] any claims, demands, and actions or causes of action on account of death or injury or loss or damage which may occur from any cause, without regard to negligence, other than the gross negligence or willful misconduct of Navajo Trails . . . . If the undersigned is a parent or guardian, he or she further agrees to indemnify (reimburse) Navajo Trails or such persons for any damages paid by or assessed against Navajo Trails . . . as a result of injury to or death of a child . . . .

Hawkins's mother signed this form.

3 During the trail ride, Hawkins's horse was spooked and threw her. Hawkins was injured. She filed suit against Navajo Trails, alleging that it had provided an insufficient number of guides, that its guides were not adequately trained, and that its guides had failed to carry out properly their duties during the ride. In response, Navajo Trails denied that it was negligent and additionally defended on the ground that the "Release Form" precluded Hawkins's suit. Both parties moved for summary judgment on the issues of the legal effect and enforceability of the Release Form. The district court ruled that the indemnity provision was enforceable between Hawkins's mother and Navajo Trails but that the release of Hawkins's future claims for negligence was unenforceable as a matter of public policy. Hawkins appealed the indemnity ruling, and Navajo Trails cross-appealed the ruling as to the release.

Analysis

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First, Utah law is consistent with Scott's underlying premise. Navajo Trails has cited no source of law, and we are aware of none, granting parents in Utah a general unilateral right to compromise or release a child's existing causes of action without court approval or appointment to that effect. To the contrary, Utah law provides various checks on parental authority to ensure a child's interests are protected. Under the Uniform Probate Code, for example, when a minor has a cause of action, the minor or another person interested in the minor's welfare may petition for the appointment of a conservator. See Utah Code Ann. § 75-5-404 (1993). Once appointed, a conservator "may act without court authorization or confirmation" to "settle a claim by or against the . . . protected [minor] by compromise, arbitration, or otherwise." Id. § 75-5-424(3), (3)(s) (1993); see also id. § 75-5-409(1) (1993) (allowing court to authorize, direct, or ratify transactions to protect the minor's interests when the situation does not require a full conservatorship). Significantly, a parent may act as a minor's conservator, not as a matter of right, but only when appointed by the court. See Utah Code Ann. § 75-5-410(1) (Supp. 2000) (listing parents seventh in prioritized list of those eligible for court appointment as a conservator).

12 Moreover, the statutes and rules cited by the district court in this case are also indicative of public policies favoring protection of minors with respect to contractual obligations. Specifically, section 15-2-2 of the Utah Code provides that minors may disaffirm contracts "before or within a reasonable time after . . . majority," Utah Code Ann. § 15-2-2 (1999). Furthermore, rule 17(b) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a "minor . . . who is a party [to any civil action] must appear either by a general guardian or by a guardian ad litem appointed in the particular case by the court in which the action is pending."(4) Utah R. Civ. P. 17(b).

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

¶19 We affirm the court's ruling with respect to the waiver of liability, but reverse with respect to the indemnity provision. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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Reported by Kent Morlan