Montana Supreme Court hears argument over ski-resort duty after skier’s fall

At oral argument before the Montana Supreme Court, Ian Gillespie, counsel for the appellant, asked the court to reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Whitefish Mountain Resort and remand for a jury trial, saying there are disputed facts about a downed fence and whether a groomer knocked it over that preclude decision as a matter of law. "There’s a record that the fence was down that morning," Gillespie told the justices, describing photos and testimony and the plaintiff’s severe pelvic fracture and life flight to Seattle.

Gillespie framed four issues for the court: (1) the district court’s summary-judgment dismissal in favor of the appellee, (2) denial of the appellant’s cross-summary-judgment on damages, and (3–4) disputes over exclusion of his medical expert and limits placed on expert disclosures for the defendant’s biomechanical…