City Segway Tours of Washington DC, LLC (CST), operated tours where customers used Segway personal transportation vehicle to tour the city. Norman Mero and his signifi-cant other signed up for such a tour. The contract they signed prior to beginning the tour contained a release of liability clause (exculpatory clause) that stated,
I do hereby waive, release, acquit, and forever discharge the CST Indemnitees from any and all losses, claims, suits, causes of actions, etc. for property damages, personal injuries, or death I may suffer or sustain while riding or operating the Segway, whether arising from my own acts, actions, activities and/ or omissions of those of others, except only those arising solely from the gross negligence of the CST Indemnitees. While riding the Segway, Mero collided with the Segway ridden by his significant other. Mero fell to the ground and fractured his right arm. Mero sued CST for negli-gence to recover for his injuries. CST asserted that the release of liability clause the Mero signed released it from liability. Mero argued the release of liability clause was not enforceable. Is CST liable to Mero? Did CST act ethically in placing a release of liability clause in its con-tract? Mero v. City Segway Tours of Washington DC, 962 F. Supp. 2d 92, 2013 U. S. Dist. Lexis 120304 (United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 2013)