Trial Magazine

Thomas and Linda Taylor made reservations at The Point at Saranac Lake, a luxury resort in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. Before arriving, they asked the management staff to arrange a guided snowmobile tour. The resort’s staff contacted Gary Bishop, the owner of Adirondack Snowmobile Rental (ASR). After the Taylors arrived, they made final tour arrangements with the resort’s general manager, who provided a car for them to get to ASR. Once there, the Taylors received safety instructions for the snowmobile tour, to be guided by ASR employee Robert Pinsdorf. The Taylors set off on the excursion; Thomas drove the snowmobile with Linda as his passenger.

There were two other couples participating in the tour, and one couple’s snowmobile broke down. Pinsdorf took the wife on the back of his snowmobile, leaving the husband with the disabled vehicle. He told the other two couples, including the Taylors, to follow him back to his “home base” so he could pick up a part and return to fix the vehicle.

At some point, the Taylors fell behind the others. As they attempted to cross a public road, a minivan struck their ­snowmobile. Thomas, 63, suffered blunt-trauma injuries and died at the scene. He is survived by Linda, the couple’s two adult children, two grandchildren, and his parents.

Linda, 57, was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition with multiple severe injuries, including a closed head injury with subdural hematomas; a severely displaced pelvic fracture with hemorrhaging of the pudendal artery; and fractures to her left hip, left shoulder, and left femur and tibia. She ­underwent four surgeries for open reduction internal fixation of the fractures and subsequent revision of the hip surgery after she developed an infection. She also underwent extensive physical therapy. She now suffers from chronic pain, an impaired gait, and balance problems. She is unable to walk for long distances or raise her left arm above her shoulder. As a result of the brain injury, she has difficulty with concentration and decision-making.

Linda, individually and on behalf of her husband’s estate, sued Pinsdorf; Bishop; The Point at Saranac Lake; and its owner, The Garrett Hotel Group, Inc. The plaintiffs alleged that Pinsdorf failed to adequately supervise the Taylors; warn that they would encounter public roads on the trail; and stay in closer proximity to ensure their safety, in light of the fact that the tour was promoted as a beginner’s tour. The plaintiffs further alleged that the resort defendants were liable under theories of apparent or ostensible agency. The plaintiffs contended that they reasonably believed that the tour was being provided by the resort.

Pinsdorf was dismissed after he declared bankruptcy, and the case went to trial against Bishop and the resort defendants.

To support their agency theory, the plaintiffs presented a screenshot of the resort’s website listing snowmobiling as one of the activities available on the premises and suggesting that snowmobiling was a service provided by the resort’s agents or employees. Bishop testified that the resort’s general manager advised him not to discuss fees with the guests and to bill the resort for the tour because the manager wanted guests to feel that they were contracting directly with the resort. Linda testified that she and Thomas dealt only with the resort in scheduling the tour and that they had not heard of ASR before the tour began.

The resort defendants argued that it was clear that Bishop and Pinsdorf were not employees of The Point and that the resort had done nothing more than get the guests together with an independent contractor to provide the tour services.

The defendants strongly contested the plaintiffs’ claim for lost earnings. Although Thomas had been a successful investor and hedge fund manager, at the time of his death, he was working on a new entity that had not yet turned a profit.

Linda did not pursue claims for lost earnings or medical expenses.

The parties settled just before closing arguments for $7.75 million, which was paid by the resort defendants’ primary and excess insurers.

Citation: Taylor v. The Point at Saranac Lake, Inc., No. 777/07 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Franklin Cnty. Oct. 3, 2016).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Ben B. Rubinowitz and Richard M. Steigman, both of New York City.

Plaintiff experts: Craig Bartlett, orthopedic surgery (treating), South Burlington, Vt.; W. LaFrance Jr., neuropsychiatry, Providence, R.I.; and Joel Morse, economics, Baltimore.

Defense experts: Robert Todd, neurology, Liverpool, N.Y.; Daniel Carr, orthopedic surgery, Syracuse, N.Y.; and Matthew Mulholland, forensic accounting, Toronto, Ont., Can.