Recreation and Risk

Recreation and Risk explores the law through recreational businesses—mostly amusement parks, but also water parks, haunted houses, ski resorts, and more. Such an exploration is accessible and provocative—and it offers a chance to explore an array of doctrinal concepts.

First, and most centrally, the book provides students with a look at how a range of legal concepts applies to a particular industry. With this unique single-industry approach, students can glimpse how a broad range of aspects of the law can affect a particular business and can also gain a sense of what in-house attorneys face. Most of this is around civil litigation, with examination of liability issues for design and warning as well as deep dives into comparative fault and assumption of risk, especially inherent risks, as well as waivers. It also includes a look at intentional torts and consent, and the occasional potential for criminal liability.

Second, and relatedly, it includes a good bit of regulatory law—in particular, enough to see how wildly varied the regulatory schemes around one industry can be, and the sometimes unpredictable ways those schemes develop and evolve.

Third, it gives students a chance to revisit some central doctrinal areas beyond the first year of law school. As such, especially with the case study chapter included, it can serve as a capstone course (whether formally designated as one or not).