Over the last eight months, Jules has lost fifty pounds. He is about ten pounds shy of his 200 lbs. goal weight, which is considered normal for his height.  He has been told that the last ten pounds are the hardest to lose, but John persists.

In an effort to reach his goal weight, John joins the URock (UR) in Manhattan. When he enrolled, he was advised to use the Quantum Elite XX, the latest model of a treadmill, manufactured by the FITBOSS Corp.(FTB),  which UR bought five months ago from Athletic Distributors. UR regularly purchases equipment made by FTB Corp.

Jules has a Master's in Fitness Education from Harvard and was once in great shape but, family and personal issues have caused him to let himself go, so he is trying to once again have the shape that his knowledge knows everyone should be in.   Jules is exercising vigorously on the Quantum when he notices that Betty, another club member, is using a fitness machine wrong by trying to drink hot coffee while using the machine.  He tries to call out to her offering to teach her how to use the machine but she either ignores or does not hear him and continues using the machine in a completely wrong and even dangerous way.  As Jules is exercising and trying to warn Betty, he does not notice that a yellow warning light goes on which fitness experts know means that a machine belt is getting loose or about to break. The general public just thinks that this yellow light means get off the machine as soon as possible but fitness pros know that the light indicates that either a belt is loose, in which case the machine has to be slowed gradually, or a belt is about to break, in which case the machine must be stopped immediately using a shutoff button.

Fitness pros like Jules know whether the belt is loose by one sound it makes or if it is about to break by another sound it makes and, obviously, that is important because what must be done if loose or if about to break is different and if the wrong action is taken the results will be catastrophic. Jules would definitely have been able to resolve this situation easily had he seen the light and heard the sound but he was too busy trying to help Betty who, as noted above, was not even paying attention to him.  When Betty finally did realize that Jules was trying to get her attention, she just thought that he was another creep trying to ask her out and then she really ignored him.

Jules finally saw the light and frantically hit the shutoff button but, as it turned out, the belt was loose and required Jules to slow the machine slowly instead of suddenly as he did. As a result of Jules doing the wrong thing ( shutting off suddenly instead of slowing down slowly), he is thrown from the machine and goes flying into Betty, who manages to scream " I said I do not want to go out with you!" right before Jules crashes into her, causing both of them severe injuries. 

The evidence shows the following:

• A)    FTB has started using a cheaper quality of belt to save money which has, up to this point, not resulted in any injuries or accidents.

• B)   FTB had issued a new user's manual indicating to the user what to do in case that yellow light goes on, including the difference between the sounds the machine makes when the belt is loose as opposed to when it is about to break.  FTB insists that the manual is intended so that "anyone with half a brain" will know what to do. FTB told UR that it must provide a 30 minute training session for each user of the machine including explaining the manual and safety instructions, before letting any that person use the machine.  UR used to do this but, lately, it had to lay off a couple of employees and UR simply does not have enough people to do this so they have started to just not do it all.  Instead, they have customers sign a bunch of papers including one that says the person has been instructed on how to use the machine and another indicating that the person promises not to sue anyone if they get hurt using any machine.

• C)   FTB includes three warning stickers which are supposed to be placed on the dashboard of the machine and on each side but the UR worker who unpacked the machine threw out two of them and put the other one under the machine.

• D)   Betty insists that, when she first applied for membership at the gym, one of the main reasons she agreed to join was that she was told that men were not allowed to use the gym on Wednesdays and this whole incident happened on a Wednesday and, had the gym followed its promise to customers like her, "this idiot would not have been trying to hit on me just because I am so irresistible that he could not control himself."  The employee who processed Betty's application, however, denies Betty's claim and argues that she was the one who wanted no men on Wednesdays but was told that would never be allowed.

• E)   Jules argues that the machine should have had clear warnings and reminders of what to do in case the yellow light went on and that both FTB and UR are responsible for those items not being on the machine. Jules also argues that the belt should have been made from better material.  Jules wants to sue UR for Betty's injuries because he feels that she has been victimized by "such a greedy and carless gym".

1. As a lawyer for FTB what claims and defenses would you argue for your client under these facts and why?
2. As a lawyer for UR what claims and defenses would you argue for your client under these facts and why?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

As a lawyer for FTB what claims and defenses would you argue for your client under these facts and why Here are some possible arguments that a lawyer for FTB could make under these facts As a lawyer f... View the full answer