MURPHY V. STEEPLECHASE AMUSEMENT case brief

MURPHY V. STEEPLECHASE AMUSEMENT

• No contract, no written words

• Patrons assume the risk of the activity

• Most famous implied assumption of risk case ever – Cardozo opinion

• P was a healthy young guy, with his friends, watched others on the Flopper get bounced around

• Cardozo thinks P was a thrill seeker

• P claims he stepped onto the ride and there was a sudden jerk and he fell hard

• Cardozo says P got exactly what he paid for – he got flopped

• Tort Stories: this is a dangerous ride! Conveyor belt running at 7mph. Cardozo oversimplifies the image. Cony Island during this period was filled with all kinds of thrill seeking games, stands, rides, etc. A place for the young vigorous types. Not for Cardozo. There was another case involving a different ride, where plaintiffs fell off wooden horse after the stirrups broke. The court (including Cardozo) held that the park was liable because the fun did not come from being thrown off the horse

• The plaintiff tries to make the argument that there was extra risk in the ride. Sudden jerk was not expected – supposed to be more constant. Also, P asserts that he fell upon wood and not padding. Cardozo rejects this because the P’s complaint does not assert this, but only that D’s negligence is based upon a sharp and sudden jerk.

• Courts won’t allow implied assumption of risk in cases where the inherent nature of the game is too dangerous – if there was a Spiked Flopper, there would have been liability.