The john litterer vail resorts lawsuit was back before the Colorado Supreme Court on April 16, with justices pressing lawyers over whether an Epic Pass waiver can wipe out claims tied to a 2020 Breckenridge Ski Resort snowmobile crash. The hearing took place at Holyoke High School, where the court focused on the scope of the release language Litterer clicked through when he bought a second pass in November 2022. The case now sits at the center of a broader fight over how far ski resort liability waivers can go in Colorado.
What the justices zeroed in on
John Litterer, a Texas man, says he was struck by a Vail Resorts employee driving a snowmobile around a blind corner at Breckenridge in 2020. He had already sued by the time he bought another Epic Pass, but the resort says he agreed in that later purchase to release and give up any and all claims, including anything that had happened before then.
The lower courts sided with Vail Resorts and dismissed the case, finding that the later waiver barred the claims. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter after those rulings, and the justices spent much of oral argument on whether Litterer should have understood that his second pass purchase could affect an active lawsuit already underway.
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez called the release language broad and said it was also pretty plain. “How would that not put Mr. Litterer on notice? He certainly was aware of his own lawsuit, ” Márquez said. “That he is giving that up when he signs this. ”
Justice Richard L. Gabriel asked whether the issue was the wording itself or whether Litterer simply failed to read the six-page agreement. Justice Brian D. Boatright questioned whether the court should be stepping into policy where “we are not a policymaking branch of government. ”
How the john litterer vail resorts lawsuit connects to earlier rulings
Trent Ongert, who represents Litterer, argued that his client never intended to drop an active lawsuit when he clicked agree on the Epic Pass purchase. Ongert said the waiver was too broad to be enforced and should not reach negligence claims tied to state safety requirements.
He pointed to the Colorado Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling in Miller v. Crested Butte, which held that blanket waivers do not always shield ski areas when they violate state laws or regulations. In that case, a jury found Crested Butte negligent after a chairlift fall left a 16-year-old girl paralyzed.
Ongert said the john litterer vail resorts lawsuit presents a chance to expand or clarify that ruling. He also told the court that the legislature has ignored recent attempts to enact laws aimed at skier safety and ski area accountability.
Vail Resorts’ attorney, Micahel Hofmann, argued that the waiver language was clear and that Litterer agreed to waive his existing lawsuit when he bought the pass. Hofmann warned that ruling otherwise could create broader problems for contract law in Colorado.
What comes next for the case
The Supreme Court typically issues written opinions within nine months of oral arguments, which means a decision is still months away. For now, the john litterer vail resorts lawsuit remains unresolved, with the justices weighing both the wording of the Epic Pass agreement and the limits of resort liability waivers after the Miller decision.
The next development will come when the court releases its written opinion, a ruling that could further define how Colorado treats ski pass agreements, active lawsuits, and the line between contract language and state safety rules in the john litterer vail resorts lawsuit.
