Waiver Defeats Claims Against "Motorcycle Safety" School

RUTH M. MAXWELL v. MOTORCYCLE SAFETY FOUNDATION, INC. ET AL.

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

R. Steven Waldron, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ruth M. Maxwell.

Joel P. Surber, Frank M. Gallina, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Mid Tenn Motorcycle Education Center, and Michael Upchurch.

Judge: CLEMENT

Plaintiff filed this action against the instructor of a motorcycle safety course and his employer for injuries she sustained when she drove off of the designated course site and collided with a parked pickup truck. The trial court found that the plaintiff’s negligence claims were barred because she signed a valid written waiver/release from liability document prior to starting the course. The trial court also dismissed the plaintiff’s gross negligence claims, finding there was nothing in the record which would allow a reasonable juror to conclude the defendant exercised a conscious neglect of duty or a callous indifference to consequences. We affirm.

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