Mardi Gras Parades, Krewe Liability, and Assumption of Risk

Louisiana has a statute that may be unique in American law. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:2796, “Limitation of liability for loss connected with Mardi Gras parades and festivities; fair and festival parades,” does just that: it states that “no person shall have a cause of action against any krewe or organization” that participates in a Mardi Gras parade. It goes on to also state that anyone attending a parade “assumes the risk of being struck by any missile whatsoever which has been traditionally thrown, tossed, or hurled by members of the krewe” and that those “items shall include but are not limited to beads, cups, coconuts, and doubloons.” The only exception to both parts of this statute is if an injury is caused by “the deliberate and wanton act or gross negligence of the krewe or organization.”