Court decision allows Sugarloaf chairlift lawsuit to move forward

A lawsuit stemming from a chairlift collapse at Sugarloaf Mountain in the winter of 2010 is moving forward toward trial, thanks to a judge’s ruling this month.

Justice Nancy Mills ruled that the majority of the suit filed by Berman & Simmons, on behalf of Dr. Michael and Patricia Katz, can move into the discovery phase. Justice Mills also dismissed a counterclaim filed against the Katz family by the corporate owners and investors of the resort. The case is being heard in Franklin County Superior Court.

Michael and Patricia Katz are suing the corporate entities affiliated with Sugarloaf on behalf of themselves and their two young daughters, Abigail and Emily. Michael and his daughters were on the Spillway East chairlift at Sugarloaf on Dec. 28, 2010, when the lift broke and they fell 35 feet to the ground. All three received serious injuries.

The Sun Journal newspaper of Lewiston, Maine, wrote about the Court decision. Click here to read the story.

This lawsuit is being watched closely by the ski industry in the U.S. The Sun Journal story was picked up by the Associated Press and published in several news outlets nationwide. The case could go to trial as early as the spring of 2015.