Summary 2009 WY 83

Summary of Decision issued June 30, 2009

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Case Name: Hall v. Perry

Citation: 2009 WY 83

Docket Number: S-08-0167

Appeal from the District Court of Park County, the Honorable Steven Cranfill, Judge.

Representing Hall: Matthew D. Winslow of Keegan & Winslow, PC, Cody, Wyoming.

Representing Perry: Patrick J. Murphy and Lori L. Gorseth of Williams, Porter, Day & Neville, PC, Casper, Wyoming.

Facts/Discussion: Hall was injured when he was thrown from a horse while participating in a deer hunt guided by Hidden Creek Outfitters (Perry). The district court ruled that the Release signed by Hall precluded his negligence action and granted summary judgment in favor of Perry. Hall argued that after he signed the Letter Agreement and provided the initial deposit, Perry was obligated to take him on the hunt. He claimed the Letter Agreement formed the entire contract and the Release was a separate agreement which required consideration apart from the fee he paid for the hunt. Hall signed the Release Agreement after arriving at the lodge prior to the hunt.
The Court stated that it follows the preexisting duty rule which means an agreement to do what one is already bound to do cannot serve as consideration to support a modification of the parties’ agreement. Perry argued that the preexisting duty rule did not apply because the Release was part of the parties’ original agreement and thus, no new or additional consideration was needed to make it enforceable. In order to accept Hall’s position that the Release was not part of the parties’ original agreement, the Court would have had to ignore the Letter Agreement’s clear reference to a separate Release and Indemnity Agreement. The Court noted the case fit into the Roussalis rationale and that no new consideration was required to make the Release enforceable.

Conclusion: The district court recognized the Release was not attached to the Letter Agreement but concluded that it was effective as an addendum because it was signed by Hall. The Court believed the Letter Agreement referred to the Release. Because the Release was an addendum to the original contract, no additional consideration was required.

Affirmed.

J. Hill delivered the decision.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/majkat .

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