Wikipedia cited in Utah appellate court
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August 27, 2012
Utah: An insurance case in Utah led the Court of Appeals to cite the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia in a recent decision. The case involved Robert Oltmanns and Brady Blackner v. Fire Insurance Exchange, with whom Oltmanns had a homeowners insurance policy. Blackner was injured while operating Oltmanns' Honda F‐12 AquaTrax personal watercraft. The insurance policy excluded the following from its liability coverage: "ownership, maintenance, use, loading or unloading of: aircraft, jetskis and jetsleds..." Due to these exclusions Fire Insurance Exchange brought a declaratory judgment against Oltmanns and Blackner, saying that "jet ski" is a synonym for personal watercraft and therefore excluded in the above provisions.[1][2]
Judges Carolyn McHugh, J. Frederic Voros Jr., and Gregory Orme however ruled in favor of Oltmanns and Blackner, saying that "jet ski" does not necessarily apply to the personal watercraft driven at the time of the injury. The court used Wikipedia to clarify public use of "jet ski".
| “ | "While a prudent person would avoid a surgeon who bases his or her understanding of complicated medical procedures on an online source whose contributors range from expert scholars to internet trolls, where an understanding of the vernacular or colloquial is key to the resolution of a case, Judge Posner is correct that Wikipedia is tough to beat.”[3] - Court of Appeals written decision[4] | ” |
- To read whole decision, see "Fire Insurance Exchange v. Robert Allen Oltmanns and Brady Blackner," August 16, 2012
The section of the Wikipedia article used by the court reads as follows:
| “ | "The Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name is sometimes mistakenly used by those unfamiliar with the personal watercraft industry to refer to any type of personal watercraft; however, the name is a valid trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and in many other countries. The term “Jet Ski” (or JetSki, often shortened to “Ski”) is often mis‐applied to all.[4] | ” |
- To read the whole Wikipedia article on "Jet Ski," see Wikipedia: Jet Ski
External links
- Wikipedia: Wikipedia in judicial opinions
- Wikipedia: Wikipedia as a court source
- ABA Journal, "The Supreme Court Spurns Wikipedia, But Federal Appeals Courts Cited It Nearly 100 Times in 5 Years," April 24, 2012
- The New York Times, "Courts Turn to Wikipedia, but Selectively," January 29, 2007
Footnotes
- ↑ cityweekly.net, "Utah Appeals Court Cites Wikipedia In Decision," August 24, 2012
- ↑ abbottlawfirm.com, "Utah Supreme Court Cites Wikipedia in Published Decision," August 16, 2012
- ↑ Decision: Fire Insurance Exchange v. Robert Allen Oltmanns and Brady Blackner, August 16, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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