A Lackawanna County judge has ruled that a snowmobile club operator is liable for injuries sustained by a man after his ride crashed into a hidden six-foot-deep gully on one of the trails, but that the landowner is not negligent.

In Conway v. N.E.P. Sno Trails, Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas Judge Terrence R. Nealon rejected defendant N.E.P Sno Trails Inc.’s contention that it never charged Brent Conway a membership or entrance fee to use the trails site, and, therefore, was immune from tort liability under a provision of the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act, known as RULWA. Sno Trails also argued that Conway had known of the inherent risks of snowmobiling on the trail but did so anyway on his own free will.