Opinion ID: 857584
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶1 Ms. Penunuri was injured while participating in a guided horseback ride near Sundance Resort. Before the ride, she signed a release (Waiver), in which she waived her right to sue Defendants (collectively, Sundance) for injuries caused by Sundance’s ordinary negligence. In this appeal, Ms. Penunuri asks us to find that the Waiver is unenforceable under the Limitations on Liability for PENUNURI v. SUNDANCE Opinion of the Court Equine and Livestock Activities Act (Equine Act)1 and that it violates the public policy expressed in the Equine Act. ¶2 We first consider whether the Waiver is unenforceable under the Equine Act. We conclude that the Equine Act establishes no public policy that invalidates preinjury releases for ordinary negligence. Second, we consider whether the Equine Act is sufficiently similar to Utah’s Inherent Risks of Skiing Act (Skiing Act)2 such that the “public policy bargain” we inferred from the language of the Skiing Act in Rothstein v. Snowbird Corp.3 similarly invalidates preinjury releases under the Equine Act. Because the Equine Act lacks the discussion of public policy contained in the Skiing Act, we decline to infer that the Equine Act was the result of a public policy bargain. Accordingly, we conclude that the Waiver is enforceable and does not violate public policy.