Watch CBS News

US Appeals Court Sides With Copper Mountain Resort

DENVER (AP) - An appeals court has ruled in favor of Copper Mountain Resort in a lawsuit filed by a doctor who says he was injured skiing off a cornice that should have been marked as freestyle terrain.

Rajeev Kumar accused Copper Mountain of negligence after the 2006 accident off an area nicknamed by visitors as "Celebrity Cornice."

A federal judge ruled in favor of the resort, and a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling Wednesday.

The appeals judges say Colorado's Ski Safety Act bars claims based on dangers inherent to skiing, like going off a cornice, and that Celebrity Cornice didn't qualify as a "specified freestyle terrain area" subject to labeling.

The judges noted they didn't rule whether the cornice qualifies as "extreme terrain."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.