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This column was also published in ALM’s Entertainment and Sports Law and Insurance Law newsletters.
In an article published in Law.com, Segal McCambridge Shareholder Carla Varriale-Barker and Associate Shareholder Courtney Dunn discuss how the rise in post-pandemic events is leading to a simultaneous increase in personal injury actions against venues. Venue owners and operators must proactively review their policy to ensure they have adequate coverage in the event of a fight, pyrotechnics accident, or other incident.
“A negligence claim against an entertainment venue involves…unique defenses and considerations that are not issues in other premises liability actions,” write Varriale-Barker and Dunn. “For example, venues utilize admission tickets with unique exculpatory language and the potential application of the doctrine of primary assumption of risk [entails] potential dispositive defenses that a reasonably prudent venue owner or operator should be aware of.”
Dunn and Varriale-Barker further share that in New York, exculpatory language—whether it appears on the back of an admission ticket or a venue’s website—may provide a defense against personal injury actions arising from circumstances other than the venue’s negligence. This may take several forms, including disclaimers or contract clauses agreed upon before an accident, indicating that attendees must accept these terms to enjoy the event.
“Under New York law, an insurer’s duty to defend its insured is triggered when allegations in a complaint suggest a reasonable possibility of recovery under the policy,” they write. “With an increase in attendees at concerts and sporting events and the ever-present desire to steer clear of an inflated verdict, venues should familiarize themselves with steps that can protect them from the moment the curtain goes up.”
Read the story in full; click here (subscriber-based).
