A federal district court in New Jersey has ruled that a “parachute jumping” exclusion in an airport liability policy precluded coverage for claims for bodily injuries allegedly suffered during a skydive at the airport.
|The case
For a period of time, Skydive Sussex LLC paid Sussex Airport Inc. $1,200 per month during the skydiving season to operate a parachute-jumping concession at Sussex Airport, which is located in Wantage Township, N.J. The airport and Paul and Jean Styger, in their capacity as officers, employees or stockholders of Sussex Airport Inc., authorized a drop zone for parachuting activities operated by Skydive on the southwest side of the airport's runway.
During a tandem skydive, Reginald A. Wood allegedly landed outside of the established drop zone on the airport site and collided with a parked motor vehicle. Wood sued to recover damages for the injuries he allegedly sustained during his skydive.
Houston-based U.S. Specialty Insurance Co., which had issued an airport liability policy to the airport, sought a judgment that its policy did not cover the claims in Wood's action because of the policy's “parachute jumping” exclusion.
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