Posted on 12/12/2005 12:40:16 PM PST by SmithL
FRESNO, Calif. - A federal judge has thrown out a $10 million dollar wrongful death lawsuit alleging that Yosemite National Park was negligent in the death of an experienced climber who was killed by a rockfall.
In a ruling released last week, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder agreed with National Park Service lawyers who argued that Yosemite was immune from such lawsuits because Congress has given rangers discretion on when and where to warn the public of potential dangers.
The suit was filed by the family of Peter Terbush, a student at Western State College, in Gunnison, Colo., who was climbing with two friends 240 feet above Curry Village, a combination of visitor cabins and duplexes, when he was killed by a falling rock in June 1999.
"We are to this day saddened by this young man's death," said Kristi Kapetan, the assistant U.S. attorney who defended the park. "We just don't feel it's our fault."
Dugan Barr, attorney for the Terbush family, said he like will appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Park officials briefly closed off the area after a slide just weeks before Terbush was killed, he noted.
"The thing that's galling about this is it's really clear the park knew about the danger," Barr said.
The plaintiffs, James and Stanli Mae Terbush, who live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, argued that the cliff face was destabilized by water overflowing from a 300,000-gallon storage tank atop Glacier Point.
Rockfalls are a natural occurrence in the park where granite cliffs rise some 3,000 feet above the valley floor. In 2003, a rockfall above Curry Village slightly injured four visitors and damaged at least six structures.
God almighty. If the kid didn't climb he wouldn't have got killed---I wonder if that ever occurred to the parents.
S*** happens.
If this lawsuit had suceeded, the National Parks would have had to end rock climbing due to the liability risk.
Justice is served.
Ya know, I think he will, like, lose that appeal.
I say, I say, Judge that was mighty fine. Mighty fine. Now I won't have ta blast ya!
Can you imagine the number of zeros on the check a private landholder would have had to write if this had not happened on government land?
As a taxpayer, I said: good.
rat family.
bummer!! i guess i could've sued the coast guard when a wave knocks me off my surf board?!
Hot dog! One more frivolous lawsuit kicked in the @$$!
What, are 3 park rangers supposed to go out every morning and glue the rocks down? What's all this "nature" that people keep saying they love to romp in? Nature is dangerous. Deal with it or avoid it by staying in the house all day, where your appliances and slippery bathtubs can kill you instead.
October this year I saw several climbers on the walls, of Zion Canyon.
Tour narrators said it takes two days to climb to the top, so they sleep in a hammock suspended from a sheer face.
As a taxpayer, I feel no responsibility for people taking such risks. No amount of skill can offset the danger.
Saw a film about a champion mountain climber who got caught in a blizzard, and lost his feet/legs. His climbing partner got dead.
I have a friend that fell out near Palm Springs, fracturing his pelvis, legs and back. The VA put him together in about two years and about six major surgeries.
Climbing is very dangerous.
I wouldn't count on it, considering the 9th circus kangaroo commie club will hear it. But I hope you're right.
Ya know, I think he will, like, lose that appeal.
I wouldn't count on it, considering the 9th circus kangaroo commie club will hear it. But I hope you're right.
Growing up in San Jose I spent every minute that I could in Yosemite. That included a total of weeks or months on the walls. Who remembers the fire-fall? One cold evening I extemporaneously narrated a silent travelogue film at the lodge. Badger Pass was my favorite small ski slope. Ansel Adams would walk with me and chat. Royal Robbins, Rodger Bridwell (first free climber) Rollo Shanks, good folks all. Now the Kalifornicators and wannabies have gunched it up. Sic transit gloria mundi. I won't go back.
As a long-time rock climber, I am perfectly well aware that there is an inevitable element of risk, regardless of how careful I am.
Unless someone recklessly or negligently dislodged the rock that killed him, no one is to blame for the tragedy.
I don't know any climbers who would disagree with me on this. Most of us are unhappy about the way fear of lawsuits has resulted in great climbing areas on both public and private land being closed.
So what's it take to get a bozo like this disbarred?
People who engage in hazardous activities often die.
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