Bend jury trial underway for father seeking $15 million from Mt. Bachelor, Powdr after son’s 2018 tree-well death

(Update: Adding video, testimony in courtroom, comments by Alfonso Braun's father, Mt. Bachelor and ski industry group)

One of two people who fell into, died in tree wells at resort that day; joint lawsuit was later separated

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A jury heard a third day of testimony Friday in a $15 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against Mt. Bachelor and its parent Powdr Corp., by the father of a 24-year-old Bend man who died in a tree well in March 2018 - one of two people who died in tree wells on the mountain the same day.

A joint wrongful death lawsuit was filed in February 2020 by the fathers of snowboarder Alfonso Braun and skier Nicole Panet-Raymond, 19, of Eugene, the other person who died in a tree well at the resort that day. Each are seeking $15 million, but their cases were separated last year. The other lawsuit is pending.

This week, the first trial got underway in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

Friday morning, Braun's father Eduardo was seated next to Portland attorney Daniel Dzuiba, who filed the lawsuit.

Dzuiba questioned witness Thomas Lomax, former director of mountain operations at Mt. Bachelor.

"Can the snow at Mount Bachelor get so high that it actually covers saplings? So that you don't even see the smaller trees?" he asked.

Lomax replied: "Yes."

Braun's lawsuit, filed by Portland attorney Daniel Dziuba, seeks $10 million in non-economic damages and $5 million in economic losses. The trial was delayed in part by the pandemic, and another tree well death on the mountain on New Year's Eve 2021 frustrated Braun's father, Eduardo waiting for the case to proceed to trial.

The lawsuits allege several aspects of negligence by the resort led to the March 2, 2018 deaths of Braun and Panet-Raymond, in separate incidents. It notes both victims were inside the resort's boundaries and suffocated after falling into hidden and un-barricaded tree wells.

It notes "a substantial amount of snow" had fallen at the resort in the three weeks before the pair died, leading to the tree wells' development, and claims the resort "knew or should have known of the danger" they posed, and have done more to monitor and warn of those risks, to prevent such tragedies.

Braun explained to NewsChannel 21 early last year why he filed the lawsuit: "It hurt me more that some other kid died. That's why we're doing the lawsuit."

"If you have four accidents on the highway, they will fix that turn, they will do something. They will close it, they will fix it. We're doing the lawsuit to try to make it public to take action or do something. So this never happens again, because this is going to happen every year."

During questioning Friday by Mt. Bachelor and Powdr Corp. attorney Brad Stanford, Lomax was asked about signs and brochures provided to customers about the risks of the mountain.

Stanford asked Lomax: "This was available to anyone who wanted to grab one at Mt. Bachelor on March 2, 2018 correct?"

Lomax replied: "Yes, that's correct."

Stanford: "And in the days leading up to March 2, 2018, correct?

Lomax: "Yes."

We reached out to the new management at Mt. Bachelor about the trial, and received this statement from John Merriman, the resort's new general manager:

“The entire team at Mt. Bachelor continues to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Braun. Because it is an active trial, we cannot comment further.”

We also heard from the National Ski Areas Association, whic provided this statement about the lawsuit and the risks of tree wells at ski areas:

"Unfortunately, skiing and snowboarding have inherent risks, including deep snow immersion (which includes tree wells). Tree well and deep snow immersion incidents occur most often in the West, especially in the Pacific Northwest, which experiences sizeable annual snowfall and large storms, and where much of a ski area's terrain is below treeline. Most skiers and snowboarders in the west are aware of these particular risks,” said Dave Byrd, the Director of Risk & Regulatory Affairs for the National Ski Areas Association, a trade group that represents more than 330 ski areas and hundreds of snowsports vendors across the country.  

“Tree wells and snow immersions are risks clearly inherent within the sport,” Byrd added. “Skiers and riders are individually responsible for taking precautions when skiing or riding in the glades or near trees, and especially after large storms when these risks are heightened.”