Judge Dale A. Kimball of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah has ruled in favor of Christy Sports LLC by denying the motion of Deer Valley Resort Co. for a preliminary injunction to prohibit Christy from continuing to rent skis at its ski shop in Deer Valley.
Christy Sports is a year-round sporting goods retailer that has operated a ski shop in the mid-mountain village at Deer Valley Resort in Utah for the past 16 years. Deer Valley sought to invoke a restrictive provision in the 1990 deed to Christy’s former landlord that purports to prohibit ski rentals on the property where Christy’s shop is located. Christy Sports believes that Deer Valley’s motivation was to charge higher prices for its own ski rentals free from competition by Christy. Deer Valley prices are currently 30 to 40 percent higher than Christy Sports.
“We are not surprised that the court ruled in our favor,” said Tom McMahon, lead counsel with the Denver law firm Jones & Keller. “We are pleased that the case will now move forward and confident that we will ultimately prevail at trial. In the meantime, the judge’s denial of a preliminary injunction will have a dramatic effect on consumers who ski at Deer Valley, as they will continue to have competitive choices of lower-priced alternatives for high-quality rental skis.”
In Nov. 1990, Christy Sports leased space on the property for its ski shop. Prior to the 1990-91, 1992-1993, 1993-1994, and 1994-1995 ski seasons, Deer Valley gave its express consent for Christy to rent skis in return for 15 percent of Christy’s collected ski rental revenues. Following the 1994-1995 season, Deer Valley ceased collecting the 15 percent fee but Christy Sports continued, and has continued to this day, to rent skis at its shop.
After events proceeded in this fashion for ten years, Deer Valley opened its own ski rental shop in the mid-mountain village for the 2005-06 ski season. Deer Valley informed Christy that, because of the opening of its own shop, it objected to Christy continuing to rent skis after the 2005-06 season. Believing that it was entitled to conduct its business and compete as it sees fit, Christy went right on renting skis during the 2006-07 ski season. Then, in November 2007 Deer Valley filed suit against Christy. As part of its lawsuit, Deer Valley sought a preliminary ruling from the federal court to prevent Christy from continuing to rent skis while the litigation is ongoing. It was that motion the court denied.
Patrick O’Winter, CEO of Christy Sports, is pleased with the judge’s ruling on the case. “We are looking forward to continuing to meet the needs of our customers both at Deer Valley and at other ski resorts throughout the Rocky Mountain region by offering a variety of rental skis and snowboards at fair prices.”
About Christy Sports
Christy Sports is based in Lakewood, Colo., and is currently one of the largest specialty ski and snowboard retailer specialists in the Rocky Mountain region. With over 42 locations throughout Colo. and Utah, Christy Sports is focused on providing quality products and competitive prices. Christy Sports also operates Door 2 Door (D2D), a full service ski and snowboard rental delivery service to certain locations. For additional information, visit www.christysports.com or www.d2dskis.com