Shurman v. Fresno Ice Rink Inc

In Shurman v. Fresno Ice Rink Inc. (1949) 91 Cal. App. 2d 469, the defendant ice rink in "argued that the Thurman decision was in 1939, and since that time over 100,000 persons have seen ice hockey games and should be familiar with the method of playing it and should assume the risk, as is ordinarily done by occupants of baseball bleachers. " ( Id. at p. 474.) While the appellate court in Shurman granted a new trial to permit the ice rink to show that its warning signs and safety netting were sufficient to absolve it of liability, the court refused to absolve the ice rink of liability, as a matter of law, under the assumption of the risk defense, stating: "It cannot be held, as a matter of law, that the general public has, at this particular date, become so familiar with the hazards of this sport and of the actual appreciation of the seriousness of the risk as to bring them within the 'common knowledge' rule and under the doctrine of assumption of risk. " ( Id. at p. 477.)