Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against NOLS In Minnesota Hiker's Death
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against a Wyoming-based wilderness training academy over the death of a hiker on a 2011 trip to India.
U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson on Friday dismissed the suit filed by Elizabeth Brenner of Minnetonka, Minnesota, against the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Brenner had claimed NOLS was negligent in the death of her son, Thomas Plotkin. The 20-year-old man died on a backpacking trip in India.
Johnson noted Plotkin had signed releases acknowledging that the NOLS program involved dangerous activities.
NOLS spokesman Bruce Palmer in Lander, Wyoming, says the program feels a great sense of loss at Plotkin's death but believes that the lawsuit was unjustified.
Paul D. Peterson, a lawyer in Woodbury, Minnesota, represents Brenner. Peterson says he's disappointed in Johnson's decision.
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