The concept of an auto belay system has never done much to excite me, and after reading this article, you can rest assured that I’ll be climbing with a partner for the foreseeable future.

In 2005, Michael Livingston, fell from a climbing wall when an auto belay device failed to catch him.  The fall resulted in a broken ankle, and several fractured vertebrae, which led last week to a $2.3 million settlement last week in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

The defendent in the case, Boomers, a Florida based enertainment company, argued that they had no obligation to adequately test and maintain the equipment.