Reference no: EM13470948

Chris Zulliger was a chef at the Plaza Restaurant in the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah. The restaurant is located at the base of a mountain. As a chef for the Plaza, Zulliger was instructed by his supervisor and the restaurant manager to make periodic trips to inspect the Mid-Gad Restaurant, which was located halfway up the mountain. Because skiing helped its employees to get to work, Snowbird preferred that its employees know how to ski and gave them ski passes as part of their compensation.  Before beginning work at the Plaza on December 5, 2013, Zulliger went skiing. The restaurant manager asked Zulliger to stop at the Mid-Gad before beginning work that day, and Zulliger stopped at the Mid-Gad during his first run and inspected the kitchen.

He then skied four runs before heading down the mountain to begin work. On this last run, Zulliger decided to take a route often taken by Snowbird employees.  Use of this "short cut" was well known to management at Snowbird.  About midway down, Zulliger decided to jump off a crest on the side of an intermediate run. Because of the drop, a skier above the crest cannot see that there are skiers below, and Zulliger ran into Margaret Clover, who was below the crest. The jump was well known to Snowbird; the resort's ski patrol often instructed people not to jump, and there was a sign instructing skiers to take it slow at that point. Clover sued Zulliger and, under the doctrine of respondeat superior, Snowbird, claiming that Zulliger had been acting within the scope of his employment. Who is liable? Explain.