Waivers of Liability Enforced in Schnarr v Blue Mountain Resorts Ltd.

Yona Gal, J.D., LL.MCivil Litigation, Contract Disputes, Negligence0 Comments

What happens when statutes collide? In Schnarr v Blue Mountain Resorts Limited, the Ontario Court of Appeal was recently asked to bar a negligence suit by enforcing waivers of liability signed by skiers visiting a ski resort. The issues in the case clustered around the dual application of both the Occupiers’ Liability Act (“OLA“) and the Consumer Protection Act (“CPA“) to agreements between skiers and ski resorts. As an occupier of premises, ski resorts are subject to the OLA.  To encourage landowners to make their property available for recreational activities, the OLA allows for landowners to limit their liability through waivers of liability.  However, as a consumer agreement, these ski resort contracts are also governed by the CPA.  The CPA requires services supplied under a consumer agreement to be of a reasonably acceptable quality and deems waivers purporting to limit resultant liability to be void. The concurrent governance of the OLA and … Read More