United States Tenth Circuit

In a tort action arising out of a motorcycle crash, denial of defendant's post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law is reversed where: 1) a plaintiff may not establish wanton conduct by satisfying the notice or knowledge element of the tort as to one risk -- e.g., a broad generalized risk -- and the second element of indifference of that risk to a differently defined risk -- e.g., the specific risk that caused the accident at issue; and 2) even if plaintiff had put on evidence that defendant knew that a certain part of the motorcycle race at issue was dangerous, plaintiff did not show that defendant was "completely indifferent" to that danger.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/13/2009
• Published 11/13/2009

Judges

• EBEL, Circuit Judge., Before KELLY, EBEL, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Paul M. Croker (Richmond M. Enochs and James L. (Jay) MowBray, on the briefs), Overland Park, KS, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee., David R. Cooper (Larry G. Pepperdine and Steve R. Fabert with him on the briefs), Fisher, Patterson, Sayler & Smith, L.L.P., Topeka, KS, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant.