Trailblazers: Court of Appeals Rules That Multi-Use Trail Users are Coparticipants

In a published decision, Composto v Albrecht, ___ Mich App ___; ___ NW2d ___ (2019) (Docket No. 340485), Plaintiff and Defendant were coparticipants in the recreational activity of using the shared, multi-use trail for its intended recreational purposes under the reasoning of Ritchie-Gamester. The trial court, therefore, erred in finding that the reckless misconduct standard of care did not apply because the parties were not engaged in precisely the same recreational activity. However, the reckless misconduct standard only applies to injuries that arise from risks inherent in the activity. Whether a risk is inherent in a recreational activity for purposes of establishing the applicable standard of conduct is determined by asking whether the risk was reasonably foreseeable, which is a question of fact for the fact-finder.

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