Two-tiered pricing based on liability waiver!?

A snowHead

@johnE, here are Mt.Bachelor's....

ADDITIONAL FAQS ON VARIABLE PRICING
Starting on September 6, 2022 Mt. Bachelor will be implementing a variable pricing model for season pass and lift ticket products as a result of a new ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court that necessitates a change to liability releases across all outdoor recreation based enterprises in the state of Oregon. When purchasing a lift access product from Mt. Bachelor you will now be provided the option to bypass signing the Release of Liability waiver (which has historically been automatically folded into the terms and conditions of your pass or ticket product). If you choose to bypass signing the Release of Liability, then an alternatively priced pass product option will be available to you at a premium fixed price.

AM I REQUIRED TO SIGN THE TERMS & CONDITIONS AGREEMENT AT TIME OF PURCHASE?

Yes. Regardless of your choice, all passholders and ticketholders are required to sign a general agreement to the Terms & Conditions of their product at the time of purchase. Only the Release of Liability may be waived.

AM I REQUIRED TO SIGN THE RELEASE OF LIABILITY WAIVER AT TIME OF PURCHASE?

No. You reserve the right to opt out of signing the Release of Liability, however by doing so, you will be required to pay a higher price for your selected pass product. The justification for the price difference is that the legal fees associated with defending these lawsuits represents a much higher cost of doing business than is the case with customers who accept the idea of personal responsibility, embodied by their willingness to sign a Release of Liability waiver.

HOW COME THIS OPTION HAS ONLY BECOME RECENTLY AVAILABLE?

In Oregon during 2014, a lawsuit (in which Mt Bachelor was a party) resulted in a decision by the Oregon Supreme Court to effectively invalidate liability releases in the state of Oregon. In accordance with this ruling, the majority of outdoor recreation-based enterprises across the state have gradually adopted a variable pricing approach in order to present a customer's available legal protection options. The idea behind the new pricing is that Mt. Bachelor's customers are now given a choice — whether to pay the resort's standard pass or lift ticket price in exchange for agreeing to a Release of Liability, or to pay a higher premium for a season pass or lift ticket in exchange for waiving your right to sign the Release of Liability.(end of copied stuff, which I truncated)

My lay interpretation: in spite of the other legalese (the "general agreement to the T&C") one is more legally able, and deemed more likely (thus the comment about legal fees), to sue if they don't sign the waiver, so they'll be charged more. Or as my dad would say, "they had you six ways from Sunday and now they want seven!".

And yes this is different from the Italian thing. This is about the skier suing the area.

I ski partly to get away from things like insurance, and all of a sudden I went from 0-for-lifetime ski insurance issues to two in a week. The snow can't fall soon enough.

Help!!

Two-tiered pricing based on liability waiver!?

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