Is a disclaimer of liability on a web page sufficient?
<p>Cycling with a group is even more enjoyable than solitary cycling—most of the time anyway.</p>
<p>But those who were tempted to organize murmur that organizing a biking trip presents an inherent risk. If/when something happens, the organizer can be sued.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you are organizing a trip publicized on a web page, is it not sufficient for you to add a warning informing people that you assume no risk on the web page?
Posting on a web page leaves open proving that the disclaimer was not added after the fact, but that's a separate question.</p>
</li>
<li><p>If the answer to the first question is that an actual physical signature on paper is necessary, can you make do with a first name, last name, and signature, or do you also have to go through the much more intrusive date of birth and proof of identity?</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>The jurisdiction in question is Canada.</p>

<h2>No</h2>
<p><strong>Scenario 1</strong></p>
<p>Your group is coming down the hill. I’m crossing the road (legally) when 7 of you plot into me causing hundreds of thousands of damages in medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering. I never saw your website or your disclaimer. You raise the disclaimer in court and my lawyer and the judge laugh and laugh and laugh. It’s nice to see someone enjoying themselves after a tragedy.</p>
<p><strong>Scenario 2</strong></p>
<p>Susan is one of the 7. She’s there because her mate Allen told her about the trip. She never visited the website or saw the disclaimer. She has also suffered damage <em>and</em> is being sued by me. See above.</p>
<p><strong>Scenario 3</strong></p>
<p>Allen might have seen the waiver but unfortunately he suffered a head injury in the crash and can’t remember a lot of things - his wife’s name, how to be an engineer, whether he saw the waiver etc. Since the organisers are relying on the waiver, they have to prove Allen agreed to it, he doesn’t have to prove he didn’t. Since there is no evidence either way, Allen wins the case.</p>
<p><strong>Scenario 4</strong></p>
<p>Jim is one of those rare individuals: a totally law abiding person. He saw the waiver and agrees that if it were part of a contract it would be valid and enforceable. However, he points out that since no consideration ever passed from him to the organisers, there is no contract and therefore no waiver.</p>
<p><strong>Scenario 5</strong></p>
<p>The website says: “Bike ride Sunday. Nothing to do. Just turn up and have fun!” At the scene of the accident, city officials turn up and ask to see the permit. It turns out that any group of more than 15 cyclists is required to have a permit. And a first aid kit. The permits are free and rarely if ever refused. They also come with a free first aid kit. Unfortunately, the fine for not having the permit is $1,000 per participant plus $5,000 if there is no first aid kit. Each member of the group is jointly and severally liable for the fine. Everyone who isn’t an organiser doesn’t think they should pay. The waiver doesn’t address this explicitly. The city sues everyone. All non organisers sue the organisers.</p>
<h2>TL;DR</h2>
<p>Subject to local law, waivers in contracts can be effective. However, a notice on a web site isn’t a contract and, notwithstanding, they are of no effect on third-parties who are not part of the contract.</p>
<p>For the best legal protection, form a properly registered club and buy insurance.</p>

<p>I won't duplicate the points that <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/a/72861/3066">this answer</a> has made, but to address some other points:</p>
<p><strong>If the answer to the first question is that an actual physical signature on paper is necessary, can you make do with a first name, last name, and signature, or do you also have to go through the much more intrusive date of birth and proof of identity?</strong></p>
<p>The point of having a written contract is not because there is some magic formula that gives it a special status in law (other than in some very specific scenarios where the law requires a written contract). It's simply that the written document is <em>evidence</em> of which terms the parties agreed in the contract. If you have a written document with a list of terms and a statement that the parties have agreed those terms, together with a signature, then it makes it much harder for a party to stand up in court and say &quot;I didn't agree to term X, Y, or Z&quot;.</p>
<p>So, with that in mind, the only things you need on the written document are those that will be sufficient to convince a court that the parties agreed to it. Usually a name and a signature is enough. Usually parties will also want to put an address so that they know where to serve demands and notices etc., particularly if there is a dispute which needs to be litigated. Things like dates of birth, company registration numbers, etc. are not strictly necessary but people sometimes like to have them so that the party can be distinguished from someone who might share the same name.</p>
<p>A proof of identity seems unnecessary in your case. The scenario you're worried about is that they sue you. In that case, they're not going to be able on the one hand to say &quot;I am the Jane Doe who participated at the bike ride and suffered damages&quot; while at the same time saying &quot;The person who signed the liability limitation agreement was a different Jane Doe&quot;.</p>
<p><strong>Other considerations</strong></p>
<p>Most countries have some form of consumer protection laws which will restrict what you can put in any contract with the consumer. For example in <a href="/questions/tagged/england-and-wales" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;england-and-wales&#39;" rel="tag">england-and-wales</a> traders contracting with consumers cannot escape liability for any of the following regardless of what they agreed in the contract, pursuant to the Consumer Rights Act 2015:</p>
<ul>
<li>Failure to perform a service with reasonable care and skill (<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/57/enacted" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 57(1)</a>).</li>
<li>Death or personal injury resulting from negligence (<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/65/enacted" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 65(1)</a>).</li>
</ul>
<p>Whether or not the consumer rights legislation is applicable will depend whether or not you are a trader (in England and Wales that is someone who is &quot;acting for purposes relating to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession&quot;). An informal group bike ride probably won't count, but an organised regular event which charges a small fee probably would. Even in non-consumer cases you cannot contract out of the following liability, this time pursuant to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977:</p>
<ul>
<li>Death or personal injury resulting from negligence (<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/50/part/I/crossheading/avoidence-of-liability-for-negligence-breach-of-contract-etc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 2(1)</a>).</li>
<li>Any other loss or damage resulting from negligence, unless it satisfies the &quot;requirement of reasonableness&quot; (<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/50/part/I/crossheading/avoidence-of-liability-for-negligence-breach-of-contract-etc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 2(2)</a>).</li>
</ul>
<p>So, while a self-drafted liability limitation agreement might be better than nothing at all, if you want to do a proper job you probably need to seek professional legal assistance. That depends on what level of risk you are comfortable with. I suspect the overwhelmingly vast majority of people who organise informal outings with groups of people do not worry about signing contracts with them. I have used meetup.com many times in the past (as a participant) and have never once been asked to sign such a contract, and I would find it downright weird if anyone did ask me. But everyone has their own tolerance for risk. As noted in Dale M's answer, if you are this worried then you really need insurance since you can't contract out of liability to third parties as a tortfeasor anyway.</p>

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