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Show Jury says resort not negligent in 1 982 avalanche death A Placer County, Calif., jury has found that the Alpine Meadows ski resort was not negligent in the 1982 deaths of three people caught in an avalanche at the resort, according to a Lake Tahoe newspaper report. The Tahoe World newspaper reported that the jury ruled Dec. 20 not to award damages to the heirs of the victims, who were buried in a massive avalanche as they walked across the Alpine Meadows parking lot. Alpine Meadows Corp., which owns the California ski resort, also is the parent company of the Park City Ski Area. The wrongful-death lawsuits were brought by the families of David. L. Hahn, 45, Los Altos, Calif.; Leroy "Bud" Nelson, 40, Eureka, Calif.; and Nelson's 11-year-old daughter, Laura. The Tahoe paper reported the potential damages ranged in the millions of dollars. Attorneys for the plaintiffs contended con-tended Alpine Meadows was negligent because it failed to warn visitors of the danger or take precautions to keep people out of the parking lot where the avalanche struck March 31, 1982. Four other people also were killed in the avalanche, including three resort employees. The resort's mountain manager, Bernie Kingery, was among them. Two other negligence suits, brought by avalanche survivor Anna Conrad and the family of her boyfriend, Frank Yeatman, who was killed, were settled out of court for an undisclosed amount, according to . the Tahoe newspaper account. Alpine Meadows attorneys argued that the resort had followed all of its avalanche control procedures to reduce potential slide hazards. They contended the fatal avalanche was an act of God. Alpine Meadows had been closed all day March 31 because of severe avalanche danger resulting from a storm that dumped about 100 inches of snow on the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Moun-tains. Resort attorneys argued that, in spite of warnings to remain inside, Hahn and the Nelsons left their rented condominiums near the resort to reach the ski area's lodge by walking through the parking lot. |
