Login | April 29, 2025
Negligence claim denied due to release form
JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Special to the Legal News
Published: July 10, 2012
A 10th District Court of Appeals panel recently ruled that a woman’s case alleging negligence against Lifetime Fitness was barred by the gym’s membership application agreement and new member policy.
The judges rejected Jodi Geczi’s claims that the contracts did not cover injuries caused by malfunctioning equipment after she was injured on a treadmill that began “jerking violently.”
“Reasonable minds can only conclude that the documents Geczi signed, which included the two provisions in the membership agreement, as well as the provision contained in the new member policy checklist, when read and considered as a whole, were clear, definite and unambiguous. Accordingly, the trial court appropriately entered summary judgment rather than submit to a jury the question of the parties’ intent concerning the release,” 10th District Judge Julia Dorrian wrote for the court.
Case summary details that in May 2005 Geczi was using a treadmill at a Lifetime Fitness center at Easton Town Center when it allegedly began jerking and she injured her left arm.
Geczi said she reported the incident to an employee and a manager and both told her they were aware of the problem prior to her using the treadmill.
She filed an action against Lifetime, claiming she suffered injury, pain, medical expenses and loss of income as a result of the malfunctioning equipment.
After finding that Geczi had read, agreed to and signed a membership application agreement and new member policy checklist that stated Lifetime was not liable for any negligence on its part that resulted in injury, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas granted summary judgment in Lifetime’s favor.
Geczi appealed to the 10th District, claiming the forms did not cover malfunctioning equipment or the employees’ negligence when they failed to warn her or prevent her from using the treadmill.
On review, the appellate judges found the release specified the entities being released and was not overly broad in describing what liabilities were covered.
“The waiver of liability and the new member policy checklist further specified, respectively, that the member would waive any and all claims which may arise as a result of such injury against ‘Lifetime Fitness or its owners and employees’ and agrees to hold harmless ‘the club, its shareholders, directors, officers, employer’s representative, agents and landlord,’” Dorrian stated.
The judges determined the release was valid and enforceable.
They also rejected Geczi’s argument that the release did not apply to the malfunctioning equipment. Finding that Ohio law requires courts to read such contracts as a whole rather than only in sections, the judges held Lifetime’s contract covered all forms of negligence.
“The scope of that broad language extends to negligence in maintaining equipment, negligence in leaving defective equipment available to users, and negligence in failing to warn patrons of defective equipment,” Dorrian wrote.
“For the foregoing reasons, Geczi’s assignment of error is overruled, and we therefore affirm the judgment of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.”
Fellow 10th District judges Peggy Bryant and Gary Tyack joined Dorrian to form the majority.
The case is cited Geczi v. Lifetime Fitness, case No. 2012-Ohio-2948.
Copyright © 2012 The Daily Reporter - All Rights Reserved