Alack v. Vic Tanny International of Missouri, Inc.

PRICE, Justice.

Plaintiff was injured while using health club facilities. He had signed a two-page, seventeen-paragraph “Retail Installment Contract” containing a general exculpatory clause. The clause, however, did not expressly release the health club from injuries resulting from its own negligence. The trial court ruled that the exculpatory clause did not bar plaintiffs negligence action as a matter of law, but the trial court allowed the contract as evidence and submitted the issue to the jury as a matter of fact. The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff in the amount of $17,000.

We hold…