Wood Smith Henning & Berman secured summary judgment on behalf of a national trampoline park client in a negligence and recklessness action in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The court dismissed the action in full, expressly finding that the exculpatory provision in the participation agreement the plaintiff signed before entering the park was valid and enforceable.
Partner Maureen McCotter and Associate Maddie Goldman prepared the motion for summary judgment, and McCotter presented oral argument. Their defense combined a detailed factual record with arguments supporting enforcement of the participation agreement and challenging the plaintiff's allegations of reckless conduct.
The lawsuit arose from an incident in which the plaintiff sustained injuries after jumping onto the metal frame of a trampoline adjacent to the park's foam pit. The plaintiff argued that the participation agreement could not bar his claims because the park acted recklessly in its use of padding over the metal frame and allegedly failed to properly inspect and maintain the padding.
The defense challenged those allegations on both factual and legal grounds, presenting hundreds of pages of maintenance and inspection records produced during discovery. Those records supported the defense's position that the plaintiff could not avoid enforcement of the agreement by baselessly characterizing the park's conduct as reckless.
With the case otherwise headed for a Montgomery County jury, the court granted the defense motion in full. The ruling resolved all claims against the client and expressly upheld the validity and enforceability of the agreement's exculpatory provision.
"The inspection and maintenance records were central to addressing the plaintiff's allegations of recklessness," said McCotter. "By placing that evidence before the court alongside the participation agreement, we established the factual and legal grounds for a complete dismissal."
The result reflects the team's thorough development of the evidentiary record and effective use of that record to secure a dispositive ruling before trial.
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