Case Name: Joseph ZIMMER, Appellant, v. MITCHELL AND NESS, Appellee, and Camelback Ski Corporation, Defendant, and G. P. I., Inc. and Head Ski Co., Div. of A. M. F. and Rieker Ski Equipment Corporation, Additional Defendants
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1978-04-13
Citations: 253 Pa. Super. 474
Docket Number: No. 412
Parties: Joseph ZIMMER, Appellant, v. MITCHELL AND NESS, Appellee, and Camelback Ski Corporation, Defendant, and G. P. I., Inc. and Head Ski Co., Div. of A. M. F. and Rieker Ski Equipment Corporation, Additional Defendants.
Judges: Before WATKINS, President Judge, and JACOBS, HOFFMAN, CERCONE, PRICE, VAN der VOORT and SPAETH, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports
Volume: 253
Pages: 474–486

Head Matter:
385 A.2d 437
Joseph ZIMMER, Appellant, v. MITCHELL AND NESS, Appellee, and Camelback Ski Corporation, Defendant, and G. P. I., Inc. and Head Ski Co., Div. of A. M. F. and Rieker Ski Equipment Corporation, Additional Defendants.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued June 15, 1977.
Decided April 13, 1978.
Charles Sovel, Philadelphia, for appellant.
Jonathan D. Herbst, Philadelphia, for appellee, Mitchell and Ness.
No appearance entered nor briefs submitted for appellees, Camelback, G. P. I., Inc., Head Ski Co., and Rieker Ski Equipment Corp.
Before WATKINS, President Judge, and JACOBS, HOFFMAN, CERCONE, PRICE, VAN der VOORT and SPAETH, JJ.

Opinion:
PRICE, Judge:
This is an appeal from the order of the court below granting appellee, Mitchell and Ness, summary judgment. Because the record discloses no genuine issue of material fact and because appellee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we affirm.
On January 6, 1973, appellant went to appellee's rental shop at the Camelback Ski area to rent skis, boots and poles. Appellant signed a rental agreement before accepting the ski equipment. Later, while descending the beginners' slope, appellant fell. The bindings on appellant's skis did not release, thereby causing him to sustain numerous injuries. Appellant commenced this action on January 3, 1975 against appellee and Camelback Ski Corporation alleging negligence, violation of § 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts and breach of warranty. Appellee filed an answer and new matter alleging that appellant signed a rental agreement which fully released appellee from liability. In his reply, appellant admitted signing the agreement, but generally denied that it released appellee from liability. After the parties took depositions, appellee moved for summary judgment, which the lower court granted on October 29, 1976. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
Rule 1035(b) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure provides:
"[summary] judgment . . . shall be rendered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."
No material facts are in issue. Appellant admits that he signed the rental agreement which provides:
"RENTAL AGREEMENT AND RECEIPT
I accept for use as is the equipment listed on this form and accept full responsibility for the care of the equipment while it is in my possession, and agree to reimburse Mitchell and Ness Ski Shop for any loss or damage other than reasonable wear resulting from use.
I understand that insurance coverage applies to equipment breakage only, not lost, misplaced or stolen equipment.
I understand that so-called safety bindings furnished herewith are releasable bindings designed to reduce the risk or degree of injuries from falling and that these bindings will not release under ALL circumstances and are no guarantee of my safety.
I furthermore release,Mitchell and Ness from any liability for damage and injury to myself or to any person or property resulting from the use of this equipment, accepting myself the full responsibility for any and all such damage or injury."
There being no material facts in issue, our next inquiry is whether appellee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The specific question is whether the agreement is valid and enforceable such that appellee is not legally liable for injuries suffered by appellant.
The test for determining the validity of exculpatory clauses, admittedly not favored in the law, is set out in Employers Liability Assur. Corp. v. Greenville Business Men's Ass'n., 423 Pa. 288, 224 A.2d 620 (1966). The contract must not contravene any policy of the law. It must be a contract between individuals relating to their private affairs. Each party must be a free bargaining agent, not simply one drawn into an adhesion contract, with no recourse but to reject the entire transaction. In the instant case the validity of the agreement is apparent. However, to be enforceable, several additional standards must be met. First, we must construe the agreement strictly and against the party asserting it. Finally, the agreement must spell out the intent of the parties with the utmost particularity. Employers Liability Assur. Corp. v. Greenville Business Men's Ass'n., supra.
Appellant argues strongly that the title of the agreement, "RENTAL AGREEMENT AND RECEIPT," does not indicate that the contract contains a release from liability. Appellant insists that the contract therefore lacks the necessary clarity to render it enforceable. We are compelled to look at the agreement as a whole to determine whether the parties' intent is clearly set forth. Although the title does not signal the exculpatory nature of the agreement, the four paragraphs of the body clearly state in laymen's terms the fact that Mitchell and Ness is released from liability for damages and injury. The first sentence of the agreement begins, "I accept for use as is the equipment listed on this form . . . (emphasis added)." In the third paragraph the endorser acknowledges the fact that the bindings, although designed to reduce the risk or degree of injuries, will not release at all times and are no guarantee of safety. In the final paragraph, appellant accepts "full responsibility for any and all . . . damage or injury" resulting from use of the equipment. No clearer expression of intent to exculpate appellee is conceivable.
Appellant's next argument is that because the word "negligence" does not appear in the rental agreement, the exculpatory language does not cover his claim against appellee. It might also be argued that the clause is general and does not specifically exculpate appellee from negligent conduct. Although we must construe the contract strictly, we must also use common sense in interpreting this agreement. The mere fact that the word "negligence" does not appear in the agreement'is not fatal to appellee's position.
In Bogutz v. Margolin, 392 Pa. 151, 139 A.2d 649 (1958), a tenant sued her landlord for injuries received in a fall in the basement of the apartment building. Although the exculpatory clause did not specifically mention the basement, it did release the landlord from injury or damage occurring "in or about the premises." The supreme court construed the clause to cover the basement and affirmed judgment on the pleadings in the landlord's favor. In Cannon v. Bresch, 307 Pa. 31, 160 A. 595 (1932), a tenant sued his landlord for negligence which caused water damage to his stock and trade fixtures. The exculpatory clause released the landlord "from any and all liability for damage that may result from the bursting, stoppage, and leakage of any water pipe . . " The supreme court found it unnecessary to resort to any rules of construction. The clause specified "any and all liability," which was sufficient to include damage from negligence. Judgment on the pleadings for the landlord was affirmed.
Those cases contrast with Galligan v. Arovitch, 421 Pa. 301, 219 A.2d 463 (1966), in which an exculpatory clause specified locations in which the tenant might be injured but the landlord was not to be held liable. The clause did not specify the front of the building, where the tenant fell. Because there was no general language which could be construed to include the area in front of the building, as in Bogutz v. Margolin, supra, judgment on the pleadings in favor of the landlord was reversed.
In the instant case, the main exculpatory clause is the fourth paragraph of the agreement, releasing appellee "from any liability for damage and injury to myself or to any person or property resulting from the use of this equipment . . . " To say that negligent conduct is not included in "any liability" is patently incorrect. The dissent suggests a further tortured reading of the clause, and would hold that the alleged liability in this case did not accrue from "use of the equipment," but from appellee's failure to inspect and fit the bindings for appellant. It is clear that the accident occurred while appellant was using the equipment and that appellant's injury was at least compounded by the equipment's failure to function as it should have.
One further argument might be that the agreement cannot be construed to cover appellee's negligence because it occurred prior to the signing of the agreement. If appellee was negligent as alleged, in renting equipment to appellant without first testing and fitting the bindings for appellant, then that negligence occurred simultaneously with appellant's acceptance of the rental agreement and receipt. For the reasons stated, we find the exculpatory clause valid and enforceable.
Judgment affirmed.
HOFFMAN, J., files a dissenting opinion in which SPAETH, J., joins.
WATKINS, former President Judge, did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case.