Renee Beaver started racing go-karts competitively in 2012, when she was fourteen. Many of the races
required her to sign an exculpatory clause to participate, which she or her parents regularly signed. In
2014, right before her sixteenth birthday, she participated in the annual Elkhart Grand Prix, a series of
races in Elkhart, Indiana. During the event in which she drove, a piece of foam padding used as a course
barrier was torn from its base and ended up on the track. A portion of the padding struck Beaver in the
head, and another portion was thrown into oncoming traffic, causing a multikart collision during which she
sustained severe injuries. Beaver filed an action against the race organizers for negligence. The race
organizers could not locate the exculpatory clause that Beaver had supposedly signed. The organizers
argued that she must have signed one to enter the race, but even if she had not signed one, her actions
showed her intent to be bound by its terms. Using the information presented in the chapter, answer the
following questions.
1.Did Beaver have the contractual capacity to enter a contract with an exculpatory clause? Why or why
not?
2.Assuming that Beaver did, in fact, sign the exculpatory clause, did she later disaffirm or ratify the
contract? Explain.
3.Now assume that Beaver stated that she was eighteen years old at the time that she signed the
exculpatory clause. How might this affect Beaver’s ability to disaffirm or ratify the contract?
4.If Beaver did not actually sign the exculpatory clause, could a court conclude that she impliedly
accepted its terms by participating in the race? Why or why not?
Sample Solution
