## Facts

- Jacqueline Goss, an experienced skier and ski-patrol first aid advisor, was standing with a friend in a flat area beyond the end of a beginner slope at a Vermont ski resort.
- The beginner slope ended with an abrupt left turn; the collision occurred about 60 feet beyond the slope’s end.
- Steven Allen, age 17, had limited cross-country skiing experience and had never skied downhill or visited the resort before.
- Allen began a first downhill attempt by walking partway up the beginner hill and skiing down a short distance toward the abrupt turn.
- At the turn, Allen lost control of his speed and direction; he saw Goss and her friend ahead but did not warn them until he was nearly upon them.
- Goss attempted to move aside but was struck and injured.
- Goss sued Allen in New Jersey for negligent skiing; the parties treated Vermont negligence law as the same as New Jersey law for the standard-of-care question.

## Issues

1. Whether a 17-year-old engaged in downhill skiing should be held to the minor standard of care (reasonable person of like age, intelligence, and experience) or to the ordinary adult standard under an “adult activity” exception.
2. Whether the trial court erred by instructing the jury to apply a minor standard of care to Allen’s conduct.

## Decision

- The New Jersey Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Division and reinstated the trial court judgment for Allen.
- The Court held Allen’s conduct was properly judged under the minor standard: a reasonably prudent person of like age, intelligence, and experience under the circumstances.
- The Court rejected treating downhill skiing as an “adult activity” warranting an adult standard of care.
- Because the jury found Allen not negligent under the correct standard, no new trial was warranted.

## Legal Principles

- Minors are generally held to a negligence standard measured by a reasonably prudent person of like age, intelligence, and experience under the circumstances.
- A limited exception may apply when a minor engages in activities normally undertaken only by adults and posing special risks (commonly exemplified by operating motor vehicles), justifying a uniform adult standard.
- Recreational skiing, though it involves risk, is commonly undertaken by persons of many ages and does not require adult qualifications; participation alone does not trigger the adult-activity exception.

## Conclusion

The court held that a 17-year-old beginner skier is not automatically subject to an adult negligence standard; absent a characteristically adult activity, the minor standard governs, and the defense verdict based on no negligence was reinstated.


Goss v. Allen, 70 N.J. 442, 360 A.2d 388 (N.J. 1976)