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Alta asks judge to toss lawsuit over snowboarding ban

Posted at 4:47 PM, Jun 24, 2014
and last updated 2014-06-24 18:47:03-04

SALT LAKE CITY — Alta has renewed its request for a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed over its snowboarding ban.

It’s the latest round in litigation filed against the ski resort filed by a group called Wasatch Equality, pushing to get snowboarders on the slopes. In court papers filed Tuesday and obtained by FOX 13, Alta insisted it did not discriminate against people — just equipment.

“Plaintiffs do not allege that they are a class of people barred from Alta, but rather that they are a class of people who reject Alta’s rules,” resort attorney Frederick Thaler wrote. “Plaintiffs have not cited any case that recognizes such a group as a ‘class’ with standing under the Fourteenth Amendment. If the law were otherwise, anyone who wanted to ignore any business rule need only find another like- minded rule breaker and then claim class status.”

Read the filing by Alta ski resort here:

Wasatch Equality sued Alta and the U.S. Forest Service earlier this year, alleging that the resort’s ban on snowboarders violates their right to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. Most recently, the group urged a judge to keep their lawsuit alive and schedule a hearing.

The U.S. Forest Service has argued it has sovereign immunity and discretion about what takes place on its lands.

A federal judge is expected to schedule a hearing to decide if Wasatch Equality’s lawsuit should be dismissed or proceed to trial.