During Windsorm 11/05/05 in Autzen Stadium Parking Lot my pop-up
canopy/shelter joined hundreds of others as it tumbled away from my
parking spot/car. Mine scratched a jeep in the next row. The owner is
seeking ALL $600 damage repair from me and his insurance supports
this. The parking passes have a WAIVER. why am I not protected?

I am not an expert at this sort of thing and this is merely my
opinion, but I suspect the parking lot waiver is for the parking lot
owner's liability.

You are the only person who could have prevented your canopy from
becoming dislodged. Despite there being a severe wind, which is a
possibilty if not foreseeable (unlike, say, a metoerite striking the
canopy and bouncing onto the Jeep), you have the ultimate
responsibility. Had you not set up the canopy, your canopy would not
have caused damage.

Certainly you did not do this on purpose and nobody is accusing you of
that. This is an unfortunate occurance and one of the reasons we buy
insurance. Your insurance company should cover this, I would think.

I had a similar problem and although he is seeking this money it would
cost more for him or his insurance company to pay for a lawyer in
order to get the money returned. If he tries to sue you or anything of
the sort it will be based  on  the principle that he feels he should
get paid and you should be held responsible.

The proximate cause of damage was an act of God.  You are not liable
for the damages caused.  An analogy to this would be if a piece of
siding blew off your house during a windstorm and broke your
neighbor's car windshield.  You are not liable for the damage that
your personal property causes if the proximate cause of loss was an
act of God.  You're in the clear.