DaleC
Contributor
Let's say that a mentor takes out a person with dependands. No money exchanges hands, the mentor says explicitly he is not instructor, doesn't represent himself as an instructor, knows nothing about instructing, warns of the consequences, wears an I am not an instructor T-shirt prior to the dive, you get my point.
Winning the case isn't going to save you from the attorney fees for defending you.
Perhaps, but do you really want to live your life controlled by such what ifs (the rhetorical, not personal you)? One has to temper concern with courage or it can easily lead to fear and crippling paranoia. We used to have many such debates when I was a scout leader and deciding which activities to involve the kids in.