    
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: mrose
Post Number: 5291
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Friday, Sep 18, 2009 - 5:35 pm: |   |
This was sent to me by a friend. I thought you all might find it interesting.
"Judge Rejects Attempt to Claim Damages for Injuries Horse Lover Suffered on Date
Noeleen G. Walder
New York Law Journal
September 16, 2009
The month after Barbara Ann Stanislav and William J. Papp Jr. saw each other's profiles on the Internet dating site Match.com in 2005, the two horse lovers made plans to go on a date to a Westchester, N.Y., stable.
According to Stanislav, whose equestrian skills were a bit rusty, Papp assured her that he would give her a gentle, safe horse to ride.
But on their third date, when the two met on a winter afternoon, the day took a tragic turn.
As Papp and another rider were performing jumps, Stanislav was seriously injured when her horse "Teddy" suddenly lunged forward, causing her to fall and hit her head.
Two years later, Stanislav, sued Papp, claiming he failed to provide her with an obedient horse and did not adhere to her request to ride slowly and carefully.
But last week, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub held in Stanislav v. Papp, 101049/08, that Papp was not responsible for his date's injuries.
"Plaintiff offers no evidence that Defendant knew that Teddy had dangerous propensities or that Teddy actually had dangerous propensities. The only evidence is that Plaintiff voluntarily mounted Teddy and proceeded with this recreational sporting activity," the judge wrote.
"Neither the fact that Mr. Papp provided the means for their trail ride, nor the fact that Mr. Papp was aware that Plaintiff had not been horseback riding for a number of years, provides a legal basis for Plaintiff to recover damages from her date," Tolub concluded in granting Papp summary judgment.
Stanislav and Papp both posted on Match.com photographs of themselves on horseback. The two met in New York City in January 2005. During their first date, Stanislav told Papp she started riding 20 years earlier in Kansas, when she owned two horses.
Though she had not ridden for several years, Stanislav expressed an interest in getting her skills back. For his part, Papp had two years of equestrian experience and owned a horse.
The couple met on an afternoon in February 2005 in upper Westchester County at a private stable, where they were joined on a trail ride by groomer Christopher DePhillipis.
Stanislav borrowed gear from Papp and claimed she told him repeatedly that she needed a slow, gentle horse. Papp allayed her concerns, she said, assuring her that he would find her a horse that matched her ability.
"[I]n the equestrian world, there is a way equestrians take care of each other," Stanislav testified.
According to the decision, Stanislav had trouble mounting Teddy, a small Appaloosa selected for her by DePhillips. On the trail, Teddy tried to keep up with the larger horses, and did not obey her command to slow or "half halt," Stanislav claimed.
Papp and DePhillipis eventually went off to try some jumps and Stanislav opted to meet up with them on the trail. Later, Teddy unexpectedly lunged forward, causing her to fall.
She was helicoptered to a nearby hospital, and subsequently underwent spinal fusion, a craniotomy, and several eye surgeries, according to her attorney, Robert Becker of Becker & D'Agostino.
Following the accident, Papp and Stanislav remained in touch for about two years.
According to Papp's attorney, Leonard Toker of Hoey King Toker & Esptein, who serves as in-house counsel to the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Stanislav "needed a helping hand." At one point, his client took her to a doctor's appointment, Toker said, adding that the pair mainly corresponded by e-mail.
Papp was "shocked" when Stanislav filed the negligence suit, Toker said.
RISK DOCTRINE
Tolub held that under the assumption of risk doctrine, individuals who participate in recreational activities can be deemed to have consented to injury-causing events that are known, apparent or reasonably foreseeable consequences of the participation, Tolub wrote.
Injury caused by the sudden and unintended actions of horses is an inherent risk in riding, he wrote.
And the judge said it was clear from the plaintiff's testimony that she was under no compulsion to ride with Papp.
Stanislav acknowledged that she did not express concerns about Teddy before the ride or "express a desire to end" it before the accident occurred, Tolub wrote.
And the judge noted that the nature of the couple's relationship "did not obligate Defendant to assess Plaintiff's level of expertise and experience."
He concluded, "Neither Plaintiff's lack of recent riding experience, nor her requests for assistance when she found herself unable to control the horse, created a duty of care on Defendant's part to prevent her from the risks associated with horseback riding."
Becker said his client, Stanislav, continues to suffer permanent injuries, including seizure disorder, and has not worked since the accident. She has not decided whether to appeal.
Toker said he thinks Stanislav, who was "badly injured" and has hit "hard financial times," brought the suit as a way of tapping into Papp's insurance policy, which covered him for negligence occurring outside the home. " |
