Juicy Suits: Cliff Hanger

[November 28th, 2007]

The first skiers of the season hit Mount Hood Meadows last week after a storm the previous weekend dumped two feet of snow on Portland’s most popular ski area.

As if sensing the change in weather, a Portland lawyer and amateur skier hit Mount Hood Meadows with a lawsuit two days before the snowstorm.

In the lawsuit, filed Nov. 15 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, real-estate lawyer Randal Johnson claims he was skiing Jan. 12, 2006, when he “suddenly dropped off a sheer embankment for which Mt. Hood Meadows had provided no markings or warnings.” Johnson’s attorney, Brian Posewitz, tells WW his 46-year-old client was skiing near the Vista Express lift when he went over the drop. Posewitz declined to say how far his client fell. But the lawsuit says Johnson suffered a broken left leg.

“The embankment off of which plaintiff fell was not reasonably obvious, apparent or necessary,” the lawsuit says. “If Mt. Hood Meadows had not created the embankment, or had eliminated or marked the embankment, plaintiff would not have fallen off the embankment and would not have been injured.”

Johnson is seeking $116,000 to cover medical bills, plus pain and suffering. Dave Tragethon, spokesman for Mount Hood Meadows, says the ski area doesn’t comment on litigation.

WWire readers know we’ve been covering other colorful lawsuits in a regular online column since Aug. 15. In the past three-plus months, Juicy Suits has ranked among WWire’s most widely read features.

The effort has highlighted the hidden gems of Multnomah County litigation and generated its own trenchant reader commentary. Here are some recent favorites, along with reader comments posted online:

—Nov. 16: A California woman sues Fred Meyer for injuries she sustained when a stocker allegedly hit her with a turkey he was swinging in the chain’s Medford store two days before Thanksgiving 2005.

Reader comment: “That problem is that, with the holiday crowds, you can’t swing a dead turkey without hitting someone.”

—Oct. 24: A Hillsboro man sues Shanghai Tunnel after he was allegedly beaten up by an ID checker at the popular downtown bar July 29, suffering a broken nose and facial lacerations.

Reader comment: “Drunken louts from the suburbs coming downtown like they think they are somebody. It was always few and far between back in the day...we would beat ’em down and send ’em back to the ’burbs to tell their friends.”

—Oct. 2: The owners’ association at the Elizabeth Lofts Condominiums in the Pearl District sues a fellow tenant for allegedly dropping cigarette butts off his balcony.

Reader comment: “I live in the Pearl and this is over the top. We already have a reputation that WWeek and others love to exploit for their own profit. We don’t need this to help.” 

To read the entire Juicy Suits catalog, go here.