Gossow v. Sportera Events USA, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
SARAH GOSSOW,
Plaintiff,
v.
SPORTERA EVENTS USA, INC.,
Defendant.
Case No. 25-cv-01697-JPG
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This case is before the Court on Defendant Sportera Events USA’s Motion to Dismiss
(Doc. 26). It asks the Court to dismiss Plaintiff Sarah Gossow’s amended complaint because her
claims are barred by an exculpatory clause. Plaintiff filed a response (Doc. 29), and Defendant
filed a reply (Doc. 30).
I. 	BACKGROUND
On July 20, 2024, Plaintiff participated in an event known as “MudGirl Run” in Granite
City, Illinois (“the Event”). Defendant managed the Event and was responsible for all the
equipment that was used in it. During the Event, one of the inflatable obstacles, “The Dragon,”
collapsed as Plaintiff was on top of it. As a result, Plaintiff suffered numerous injuries, including
ligament tears and buildup of fluid to her knee, and fractures and bone bruises to her tibia and
femur. Plaintiff filed her initial complaint on September 2, 2025. She subsequently filed an
amended complaint on November 10, 2025, to fix a jurisdictional defect. Her amended complaint
alleges that Defendant was negligent in one or more of the following respects: (1) failure to
ensure all equipment was properly inflated, and that no equipment was faulty or broken, and (2)
failure of safety staff to respond in a timely manner.
II. 	LEGAL STANDARD
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When reviewing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court accepts as true all
allegations in the complaint. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). To avoid dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state
a claim, a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the
pleader is entitled to relief.” F ED. R. C IV. P. 8(a)(2). This requirement is satisfied if the complaint
(1) describes the claim in sufficient detail to give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is
and the grounds upon which it rests and (2) plausibly suggests that the plaintiff has a right to
relief above a speculative level. Bell Atl. Corp., 550 U.S. at 555; EEOC. v. Concentra Health
Servs., Inc., 496 F.3d 773, 776 (7th Cir. 2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff
pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is
liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 663 (2009) (citing Bell Atl.
Corp., 550 U.S. at 556).
III. 	ANALYSIS
A. Release, Waiver of Liability, and Assumption of Risk Agreement for MudGirl (“the
Waiver”):
At the heart of Defendant’s motion to dismiss is the Waiver that Plaintiff signed before
she participated in the Event. Plaintiff did not attach the Waiver to her amended complaint. It
was presented to the Court for the first time in Defendant’s motion to dismiss. Ordinarily, when
material outside the pleadings is presented in connection with a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss,
the Court may not consider the material unless it treats the motion to dismiss as a motion for
summary judgment. However, there is an exception to this general rule where the attached
material is integral to the complaint. See Gociman v. Loyola Univ. of Chicago, 41 F.4th 873, 881
(7th Cir. 2022). Accordingly, the Court will consider the Waiver.
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Three provisions of the Waiver are relevant to Defendant’s motion to dismiss. The first is
the “Notice of Specific Risks.” It states that:
I acknowledge and agree that I have been provided notice of the following
specific risks: (1) obstacles on the course; (2) obstacles may be slippery when wet
or muddy; (3) cargo nets pose risk of falling; (4) stacks of tires pose risks of
falling or tripping hazards; (5) tunnels may become impassable; (6) climbing
walls may become slick when wet or muddy; (7) underlying conditions of the
grounds; (8) effects of weather, including, but not limited to, heat and/or
humidity. I acknowledge and agree that, in addition to the foregoing specific
risks, I acknowledge the existence of and agree I have been provided notice of all
obvious risks of participation in an Event which includes (a) obstacles designed to
be dangerous to climb or maneuver through as well as (b) other participants not
under the control of Sportera, Contractor or Owner.
The second is the “Assumption of Risk.” It provides:
I VOLUNTARILY AND FREELY ASSUME ALL RISKS AND DANGERS
THAT MAY OCCUR PURSUANT TO MY USE OF AND PARTICIPATION
IN THE EVENT ON THE PREMISES, INCLUDING THE RISK OF INJURY,
DEATH, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE. I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT RISKS
SET FORTH IN THE NOTICE OF SPECIFIC RISKS ARE JUST SOME OF
THE RISKS, AND I AGREE TO ASSUME OTHERS THAT ARE NOT
MENTIONED IN THIS DOCUMENT. I AM NOT RELYING ON SPORTERA,
CONTRACTOR, OR OWNER TO LIST ALL POSSIBLE RISKS RELATED
TO THE EVENT IN THIS DOCUMENT OR AT ANY TIME.
The third is the “Release From Liability.” It states:
I HEREBY AGREE, ON BEHALF OF MYSELF, MY SPOUSE (IF ANY),
MINOR CHILDREN, LEGAL WARDS, PARENTS, HEIRS, AND MY
PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, TO FULLY AND FOREVER
DISCHARGE AND RELEASE SPORTERA, OWNER, CONTRACTOR AND
THEIR AFFILIATES, OWNER OF PREMISES ON WHICH THE EVENT IS
TAKING PLACE, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT
COMPANIES, PARTNERS, AGENTS, OPERATORS, MANAGERS,
EMPLOYEES, AND REPRESENTATIVES (“RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM
ANY AND ALL CLAIMS I MAY HAVE OR HEREINAFTER HAVE FOR
ANY INJURY, TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT DISABILITY, DEATH,
DAMAGES, LIABILITIES, EXPENSES AND/OR CAUSES OF ACTION,
NOW KNOWN OR HEREINAFTER KNOWN IN ANY JURISDICTION IN
THE WORLD, ATTRIBUTABLE OR RELATING IN ANY MANNER TO MY
ENTRY UPON AND USE OF THE PREMISES, WHETHER CAUSED BY
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NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASED PARTIES, OR ANY OF THE
AFFILIATES OF THE RELEASED PARTIES OR BY ANY OTHER REASON.
I ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THIS RELEASE FROM LIABILITY
IS INTENDED TO BE, AND IS, A COMPLETE RELEASE OF ANY
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FOR ANY AND ALL
PERSONAL INJURIES, TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT DISABILITY,
DEATH, AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE SUSTAINED BY ME WHILE ON
OR USING THE PREMISES AND/OR CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO THE
EVENT. NOTHING HEREIN SHALL BE CONSTRUED AS A WAIVER OR
RELEASE FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE, INTENTIONAL CONDUCT, OR
RECKLESS CONDUCT.
B. Scope of the Waiver:
Defendant argues that the Waiver released it from all claims for negligence or injuries
related to Plaintiff’s participation in the Event. Illinois law permits a party to “contract to avoid
liability for its own negligence.” Oelze v. Score Sports Venture, LLC, 927 N.E.2d 137, 144 (Ill.
App. Ct. 2010). Such agreements “must contain clear, explicit, or unequivocal language
referencing the type of activity, circumstance, or situation that it encompasses and for which the
plaintiff agrees to relieve the defendant from a duty of care.” Evans v. Lima Lima Flight Team,
Inc., 869 N.E.2d 195, 203 (Ill. App. Ct. 2007). “The parties need not contemplate the precise
occurrence that later results in injury, but the defendant must put the plaintiff on notice of the
range of dangers for which the plaintiff assumes the risk of injury.” Horne v. Elec. Eel Mfg. Co.,
987 F.3d 704, 722 (7th Cir. 2021) (citing Hawkins v. Cap. Fitness, Inc., 29 N.E.3d 442, 447 (Ill.
App. Ct. 2015)). “This allows the [plaintiff] to exercise a greater degree of caution and minimize
the risk of injury.” Offord v. Fitness Int’l., LLC, 44 N.E.3d 479, 484 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015).
“The scope of the exculpatory clause depends on the foreseeability of a specific danger.”
Hawkins, 29 N.E.3d at 447. “The relevant inquiry . . . is not whether plaintiff foresaw
defendants’ exact act of negligence, but whether plaintiff knew or should have known the
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accident was a risk encompassed by his [or her] release.” Id. (quoting Cox v. U.S. Fitness, LLC, 2
N.E.3d 1211, 1216 (Ill. App. Ct. 2013)). Exculpatory clauses are “highly disfavored,” and “are
strictly construed against the party seeking to rely on them.” Id.
The Waiver is extremely broad. It purports to release Defendant from all claims of
ordinary negligence. As such, it covers all dangers that Plaintiff knew or should have known
accompanied her participation in the Event. The Court finds that additional facts are necessary to
determine whether the Waiver covers negligent construction or the collapse of an obstacle. To
begin, the risk is not specifically listed in the Waiver. The Waiver addresses many specific
dangers, including that obstacles may become slippery, the cargo net and stacks of tires may
pose risks of falling, the tunnels may become impassable, and the climbing walls may become
slick. Notably, it does not mention any risks related to negligent construction or the collapse of
an obstacle.
Further, it is not clear from the face of the complaint that the risk was foreseeable to
Plaintiff. “Whether the particular injury ordinarily accompanies a certain activity and whether
the plaintiff understands or assumes the risk associated with the activity often is a question of
fact.” Id. After reviewing the amended complaint in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, it seems
unlikely that she could have foreseen that an obstacle would collapse to the ground due to
negligent construction and cause her injury. At the very least, Plaintiff has raised a factual issue
sufficient to defeat dismissal of her claim at this stage of the proceeding. Accordingly, the Court
will allow her negligence claim to proceed.
I. 	CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Defendant Sportera Events USA’s Motion
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to Dismiss (Doc. 26). Defendant is free to raise the issue again in a summary judgment motion
after the facts have been developed through discovery.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: March 24, 2026
J. PHIL GILBERT
United States District Judge
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