This week the California Court of Appeals, Sixth District, issued its ruling in Nalwa v. Cedar Fair, LP., holding that a California amusement park operator cannot rely on the doctrine of assumption of risk to defend against a negligence lawsuit because 1) doing so would undermine California's policy of strict regulation of amusement rides and 2) because, even putting aside public policy, the doctrine of assumption of risk simply does not apply to amusement rides in California. The decision is potentially a game changer in California, and will undoubtedly be influential in other ride related cases around the country.
