Litchfield, CT – It took barely more than an hour Tuesday for a Litchfield Superior Court jury to deliver a verdict in favor of Ski Sundown in a lawsuit stemming from a 2006 incident at the Connecticut ski resort that left a teen partially paralyzed.nThe Plaintiff and his family sought millions of dollars in damages and compensation from Ski Sundown, located in New Hartford, Conn., including over $700,000 in past medical expenses and $2.3 million in future earnings. They received nothing as a result of the jury’s decision.

James Malaguit, 19, of Brewster, N.Y., was a high school sophomore at the time visiting Ski Sundown with his family on Feb. 17, 2006, when he lost his balance coming off a jump in the terrain park on the ski area’s Exhibition run, landing on his head. His injuries have left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was not wearing a helmet or goggles at the time of the evening incident.

Testimony in the case lasted nearly a month, but the jury’s action was swift. Although he saw the jump from the chairlift, Malaquit testified that the snow conditions that evening were icy and that the jump lacked signage to indicate its difficulty. He described himself as an intermediate to advanced skier at the time.

In its defense, Ski Sundown officials pointed to video depicting a competition the following day when children younger than Malaguit used the same jump without incident. They also called ski industry experts to testify regarding the nature of skiing and terrain park usage.

Ralph Monaco of New London, Conn., the Plaintiff’s attorney, indicated that he would file an appeal based, in part, on the Judge’s decision to not allow the jury to hear details of a 2005 effort to change a Connecticut law granting immunity to ski area operators.