Case 1:16-cv-02375 Document 1 Filed 09/20/16 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 9

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No.
TRACEY SHERWOOD, Individually and as Spouse of JOHN SHERWOOD, Deceased
Plaintiff,
v.
WATERVILLE VALLEY ACADEMY,
BLACK & BLUE TRAIL SMASHERS,
SNOWSPORTS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION,
LESLIE SWITZER, Individually as Mother and Guardian of MAX SWITZER, a Minor,
MAX SWITZER, Individually; and
DAN SHUFFLETON, Individually,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________________
COMPLAINT FOR THE
WRONGFUL DEATH OF JOHN SHERWOOD
______________________________________________________________________________
Plaintiff, Tracey Sherwood, by and through her counsel, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney
& Carpenter, LLP, pursuant to C.R.S. 13-21-202 for her Complaint against Defendants
Waterville Valley Academy, Black & Blue Trail Smashers, Snowsports Educational Foundation,
Max Switzer, and Dan Shuffleton, (collectively "Defendants"), state and allege as follows:
VENUE AND JURISDICTION
1.

Plaintiff, Tracey Sherwood, is a citizen of the United States and her resident

address is, 54 Sanford Drive, Randolph, NJ 07869.

2.

The decedent, John Sherwood, date of birth, December 9, 1973, was at the time of

his death a citizen of the United States and his resident address was 54 Sanford Drive, Randolph,
NJ 07869.

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3.

At all relevant times herein, Tracey Sherwood and John Sherwood were husband

and wife. They have been married since July 14, 2001. Tracey Sherwood is the surviving
spouse of John Sherwood.
4.

At all relevant times herein, Defendant Max Switzer, a minor, date of birth

January 19, 2000, is a citizen of the United States and a resident of Waterville Valley, NH. Upon
information and belief, Max Switzer can be served at his residence address, 30 Klosters Way
L68, Waterville Valley, NH 03215. His mother and legal guardian is Leslie Switzer.
5.

At all relevant times herein, Defendant Waterville Valley Academy, Black &

Blue Trail Smashers, Snowsports Educational Foundation, (hereinafter WVBBTS and/or

WVA), is a company with its principal place of business located in Waterville Valley, NH
03215. Upon information and belief, Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS can be served at 88 Boulder
Path Road Waterville Valley, NH 03215.
6.

At all relevant times herein, Defendant Dan Shuffleton is a citizen of the United

States and a resident of Waterville Valley, NH. Upon information and belief, Dan Shuffleton can
be served at his residence address, 213 High Brook Road, Thornton, NH 03285.
7.

This is a civil action to recover damages for personal injuries, including the

wrongful death of John Sherwood, and other associated damages which far exceed $75,000.00.
Jurisdiction is proper in this District Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332(a).
8.

The acts and omissions alleged herein occurred at Breckenridge Ski Resort in

Summit County, Colorado.

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GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
9.

Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference all previous paragraphs in this

Complaint.
10.

On April 4, 2016, Plaintiff Decedent, John Sherwood, was skiing at Breckenridge

Ski Resort in Summit County, Colorado.

11.

On April 4, 2016, Defendant Max Switzer (hereinafter Switzer) was skiing at

Breckenridge Ski Resort in Summit County, Colorado, with other students and competitive
skiing team members of WVA/ WVBBTS accompanied by and under the supervision of coaches
from WVA/ WVBBTS.
12.

Upon information and belief, WVA/ WVBBTS at all relevant times herein

employed Dan Shuffleton as its Freeskiing Program Director and Coach.

13.

Upon information and belief, Dan Shuffleton accompanied the WVA/ WVBBTS

student/ski team members to Breckenridge Ski Resort to supervise, train and prepare the ski team
members/students, including Switzer, for the United State of America Snowboard and Freeski
Association (USASA) competition at Copper Mountain which was held from April 1 - April 12,
2016.
14.

Upon information and belief, Dan Shuffleton and ski team members of WVA/

WVBBTS arrived a week early for the team to train at Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone
Ski Resort prior to their competition.
15.

Upon information and belief and prior to April 4, 2016, Dan Shuffleton was

aware of conditions on the Tiger Run which, if not reasonably approached by the skiers under
his supervision, including Switzer, could cause injury or death to other skiers.
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16.

Mr. Sherwood and Switzer were both descending Tiger Run at Breckenridge

Ski Resort on April 4, 2016 at approximately 1230 hours.

17.

Mr. Sherwood was skiing downhill from Switzer in control of his speed and

18.

Switzer, while descending the Tiger Run collided into Mr. Sherwood from uphill,

course.

behind, and at a high rate of speed, causing Mr. Sherwood to suffer injuries resulting in his
death.
19.

The sole proximate cause of the collision was the negligent manner in which the

Defendant Mr. Switzer was skiing.

20.

Both Mr. Sherwood and Mr. Switzer were skiers within the meaning of the

Colorado Ski Safety Act. Colo. Rev. Stat. 33-44-103(8).

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
Negligence and Negligence Per Se C.R.S. 33-44-101, et seq., as amended
(Defendant Max Switzer)
21.

Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference all previous paragraphs in this

Complaint.
22.

Switzer, a skier, had sole responsibility to know the range of his own ability, the

duty to maintain control of his speed and course at all times, to maintain a proper lookout so as to
be able to avoid other skiers, to avoid collision with persons skiing below him, to heed all posted
information and other warnings and to refrain from acting in a manner which may cause or
contribute to cause the injury of others. (C.R.S. 12-44-103(8); 13-44-109(a); 13-44-109(2);
13-44-109(5).

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23.

Switzer breached these duties to Mr. Sherwood by colliding into Mr. Sherwood at

a high speed, from above, and uphill.

24.

The cause of the collision was Switzers breach of his statutory duties of care.

25.

Mr. Sherwood was a member of the class of persons the Colorado Ski Safety Act

was intended to protect and suffered the type of harm the statute was intended to prevent.
26.

Switzer violated the referenced sections within C.R.S. 13-44-201, et seq., as

amended, and was otherwise negligent, causing the death of John Sherwood.
27.

Plaintiff suffered injuries and damages, as set forth below, as a direct and

proximate result of Switzers negligence and negligence per se.

SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
Negligent Supervision
(Defendant Shuffleton)
28.

Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference all previous paragraphs in this

Complaint.
29.

The above described wrongful actions of Switzer constitute negligence and/or

negligence per se.

30.

At the time of the fatal ski collision, Switzer was under the supervision of

Freeskiing Coach, Dan Shuffleton.

31.

Upon information and belief, WVA/ WVBBTS hired and provided compensation

to Dan Shuffleton as the Freeskiing Program Director and Coach of WVA/ WVBBTS.
32.

Dan Shuffleton had a duty to reasonably supervise Switzer, to ensure that he skied

carefully and in compliance with Switzers duties of care. Dan Shuffleton failed to reasonably
supervise Switzer and as a result was negligent in his supervision.
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33.

As a direct result of the negligent supervision of Switzer, John Sherwood was

killed.
THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF
Respondeat Superior
(Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS)

34.

Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference all previous paragraphs of this

Complaint.
35.

At the time of the fatal ski collision, Defendant Shuffleton was acting within the

course and scope of his employment with Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS as the Freeskiing
Program Director and Coach of WVA/ WVBBTS and as the Coach for Defendant Mr. Switzer.
36.

Pursuant to the doctrine of respondeat superior, Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS is

liable for the negligence of Dan Shuffleton.

37.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Dan Shuffleton, John

Sherwood was killed.

38.

As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Dan Shuffleton, Plaintiff

Tracey Sherwood suffered both economic damages and non-economic damages and losses.
FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
Negligent Training, Hiring, and Supervision
(Defendants WVA/ WVBBTS and Dan Shuffleton)
39.

Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference all previous paragraphs of this

Complaint.
40.

Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS and Defendant Dan Shuffleton had a duty to exercise

reasonable care in the training and supervision of Switzer in a reasonable and careful manner for
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the safety of John Sherwood and other skiers similarly situated, and to supervise Switzer from
acting in a manner which causes injury to other skiers.
41.

Shuffleton had a duty to supervise the team members, including Switzer to ensure

that they skied carefully. Shuffleton failed to adequately and reasonably supervise Switzer.
42.

Defendants WVA/ WVBBTS breached their duty to exercise reasonable care in

the training and supervision of Shuffleton for whose conduct they assumed responsibility and
over which conduct they assumed responsibility and control.
43.

Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS knew or should have known that the absence of

reasonable supervision and exercise of control over Switzer would foreseeably cause injury to
other skiers, such as John Sherwood.
44.

Defendants WVA/ WVBBTS created an unreasonable risk of harm to John

Sherwood for failing to reasonably hire, supervise or train Shuffleton.

45.

The failure to adequately hire, supervise or train Shuffleton constitutes

negligence.
46.

The negligence of Defendant WVA/ WVBBTS proximately caused the death of

John Sherwood.
DAMAGES
CJI Civ. 4th 10:3
47.

Plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference all pervious paragraphs of this

Complaint.

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48.

As a result of the negligence and conduct of the defendants, or each of them, on

April 4, 2016, Mr. Sherwood lost his life. Leaving behind his widow Tracey and two minor
children.
49.

Plaintiff Tracey Sherwood has incurred economic losses, including hospital, and

medical expenses, charges for physicians services and examinations, and other related expenses
to John Sherwoods medical services on April 4, 2016. These damages are the result of injuries
Mr. Sherwood sustained as a direct and proximate result of Defendants negligence and
negligence per se.
50.

Plaintiff Tracey Sherwood has and will continue to sustain the loss of care,

comfort and society of John Sherwood.

51.

Defendants conduct, including negligence and negligence per se, caused Tracey

Sherwood to incur past, present and future economic losses. This is comprised of, but not limited
to: economic losses relating to the death of her husband, John Sherwood, including reasonable
funeral and burial expenses, and financial loss which the Plaintiff has suffered. The financial
loss are those losses resulting from the loss of reasonably anticipated income and related benefits
which Plaintiff reasonably anticipated had the death of her husband, John Sherwood, not
occurred.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Tracey Sherwood, respectfully request that judgment be entered
in her favor and against Defendants, as follows:
a. For compensatory economic and non-economic damages in amounts to be proved at
trial;
b. For all interest, as provided by law;
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c. Costs of litigation, including expert witness fees; and

d. For such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
PLAINTIFF DEMANDS A TRIAL BY JURY
Respectfully submitted this 20th day of September 2016.

s/ Glendon L. Laird
______________________________________
Glendon L. Laird
McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP
5600 S. Quebec Street, Suite C100
P.O. Box 4467
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Phone: (303) 293-8800
Fax: (303) 839-0036
E-mail: glaird@mdmcl-law.com
Attorneys for Plaintiff

Plaintiff Tracey Sherwoods Address:

54 Sanford Drive
Randolph, NJ 07869