Sander and Ors v Alexander Richardson Investments doing business as Yacht Club of St Louis - US Ct of Appeals (8th Circuit) (Hansen CJ, Beam and Riley Ct JJ) - 1 July 2003

Contract - Exculpatory clause - Pleasure boats moored at marina destroyed by fire as result of negligence of marina owner's agent - Marina owner relying on exculpatory clause in slip rental agreements - Whether clause enforceable

The plaintiffs' pleasure boats, moored at the defendant's marina, were destroyed by fire when another boat moored at the marina caught fire as the result of the negligence of the defendant's agent in attempting to repair an earlier fuel leak. The defendant sought to resist liability on the basis of an exculpatory clause in each plaintiff's Boat Space Rental Agreement ("slip agreement") which provided: