Litchfield, CT – A nine-member Litchfield Superior Court jury is spending this week hearing arguments in a Brewster, N.Y. college student’s lawsuit against Ski Sundown in New Hartford, Conn.nJames Malaguit, 19, was a high school sophomore at the time visiting Ski Sundown with his family on Feb. 17, 2006, when he lost his balance coming off a jump in the terrain park on the ski area’s Exhibition run, landing on his head. His injuries have left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was not wearing a helmet or goggles at the time of the evening incident.

Although he saw the jump from the chairlift, Malaquit testified that the snow conditions that evening were icy and that the jump lacked signage to indicate its difficulty. He described himself as an intermediate to advanced skier at the time.

The trial is expected to continue all week.