Durfor v. W. Mansfield Conservation Club

2022 Ohio 416
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 14, 2022
Docket8-21-26
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 2022 Ohio 416 (Durfor v. W. Mansfield Conservation Club) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Durfor v. W. Mansfield Conservation Club, 2022 Ohio 416 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

[Cite as Durfor v. W. Mansfield Conservation Club, 2022-Ohio-416.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF OHIO THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT LOGAN COUNTY

CRISTEN DURFOR, ET AL., CASE NO. 8-21-26 PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,

v.

WEST MANSFIELD CONSERVATION CLUB, ET AL., OPINION

DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES.

Appeal from Logan County Common Pleas Court Trial Court No. CV 19 06 0201

Judgment Affirmed

Date of Decision: February 14, 2022

APPEARANCES:

Daniel N. Abraham for Appellants

Dalton J. Smith for Appellee, West Mansfield Conservation Club Case No. 8-21-26

WILLAMOWSKI, J.

{¶1} Plaintiff-appellant Cristen L. Durfor (“Durfor”)—individually and as

parent, natural guardian, and next friend of her minor child, J.S.—appeals the

judgment of the Logan County Court of Common Pleas, alleging that the trial court

erred in granting summary judgment for the Defendant-Appellee West Mansfield

Conservation Club (“the WMCC”). For the reasons set forth below, the judgment

of the trial court is affirmed.

Facts and Procedural History

{¶2} For a number of years, the WMCC has allowed the community to use

its property for an annual Fourth of July celebration. Kerns Depo. 13, 14, 19. Doc.

139. The WMCC does not charge a fee for members of the public to enter the

premises; enter into a contract with the Village of West Mansfield; or receive

compensation for opening their premises. Doc. 139. See Durfor Depo. 46. At the

2017 celebration, the WMCC made money from a fish fry but did not require

attendees to purchase a meal to participate in the event. Doc. 139.

{¶3} The WMCC does not organize this event but describes this celebration

as “a community effort.” Doc. 139. Each year, members of the community bring

and set up games and activities on the WMCC property for the attendees to enjoy.

Kerns Depo. 14-15. For this reason, the event has had different activities every year.

Id. at 16. On July 3, 2017, the mayor of West Mansfield, Kimberly K. Kerns

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(“Kimberly”), and her husband, Danny R. Kerns (collectively “the Kerns”), brought

a dunk tank onto the WMCC’s premises for use at the celebration. Id. at 42, 50.

{¶4} On July 4, 2017, Durfor and her daughter, J.S., went to this event. J.S.

Depo. 17. Durfor Depo. 12. They had never attended one of the Fourth of July

celebrations at the WMCC and had learned about this event through flyers that had

been hung up around town. Durfor Depo. 14. In the morning, Durfor and J.S.

participated in a softball game at the WMCC before returning to their home for a

cookout. J.S. Depo. 37. Durfor Depo. 17.

{¶5} In the afternoon, J.S. returned to the WMCC with several other people.

J.S. Depo. 38, 41. Durfor remained at her house to clean up after the cookout.

Durfor Depo. 18. J.S. Depo. 54. At the WMCC, J.S. saw a number of kids using

the dunk tank and decided to participate. J.S. Depo. 38, 41. She climbed up a ladder

to the top of the tank and then got dunked. Id. at 44. She then got out of the dunk

tank and got onto the ladder to climb down to the ground. Id. J.S. affirmed that she

was “facing outward” as she went down the ladder. Id. at 45.

{¶6} As she climbed down, J.S. slipped and “landed on an exposed piece of

metal believed to be a hitch or leveling crank handle and sustained perineal trauma

* * *.” Doc. 1. See J.S. Depo. 45, 49-50. After the fall, J.S. blacked out. J.S. Depo.

49. When she regained consciousness, she crawled over to someone and asked them

to call 911. Id. at 50-51. An ambulance arrived at the WMCC and transported J.S.

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to the hospital. Durfor Depo. 24-25. On July 5, 2017, J.S. underwent a surgical

procedure to address the injury that she had sustained from the fall. Doc. 1.

{¶7} On June 27, 2019, Durfor filed a complaint that named the WMCC and

the Kerns as defendants. Doc. 1. This complaint raised two claims of negligence

and one claim of premises liability. Doc. 1. On November 23, 2020, the WMCC

filed a motion for summary judgment. Doc. 139. The WMCC argued (1) that it

only had a duty not to cause willful or wanton injury to J.S. because she was a

licensee and (2) that it had recreational user immunity under R.C. 1533.181. Doc.

139.

{¶8} On February 1, 2021, the trial court granted the WMCC’s motion for

summary judgment, finding that J.S. was a licensee on the WMCC’s premises and

that the WMCC had immunity under R.C. 1533.181. Doc. 166. On May 3, 2021,

a notice was filed that indicated that Durfor and the Kerns had reached a settlement

agreement. Doc. 180. Durfor then filed a notice of voluntary dismissal for the

Kerns. Doc. 186. On July 6, 2021, the trial court issued a judgment entry, stating

that all claims against all parties had been resolved through the settlement agreement

and the grant of the WMCC’s motion for summary judgment. Doc. 187.

{¶9} On August 2, 2021, Durfor filed her notice of appeal. Doc. 195. On

appeal, she raises the following two assignments of error:

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First Assignment of Error

The trial court erred when it held that [J.S.] was a licensee on the premises owned by WMCC.

Second Assignment of Error

The trial court erred when it found WMCC immune from liability under R.C. 1533.181(A) when [J.S.] was not a recreational user.

{¶10} Durfor argues J.S. was an invitee on the WMCC’s premises and that

the trial court erred in determining that she was a licensee. She then asserts that the

trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the WMCC on this basis.

Legal Standard

{¶11} “Appellate courts consider a summary judgment order under a de novo

standard of review.” Schmidt Machine Company v. Swetland, 3d Dist. Wyandot

No. 16-20-07, 2021-Ohio-1236, ¶ 23, citing James B. Nutter & Co. v. Estate of

Neifer, 3d Dist. Hancock No. 5-16-20, 2016-Ohio-7641, ¶ 5. Under Civ.R. 56,

[s]ummary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, written admissions, affidavits, transcripts of evidence, and written stipulations of fact, if any, timely filed in the action, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law * * *. A summary judgment shall not be rendered unless it appears from the evidence or stipulation, and only from the evidence or stipulation, that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, that party being entitled to have the evidence or stipulation construed most strongly in the party’s favor.

-5- Case No. 8-21-26

Civ.R. 56(C). Accordingly, summary judgment is to be granted

only when it is clear ‘(1) that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact; (2) that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, who is entitled to have the evidence construed most strongly in his favor.’

Beair v. Management & Training Corp., 3d Dist. Marion No. 9-21-07, 2021-Ohio-

4110, ¶ 15, quoting Harless v. Willis Day Warehousing Co., 54 Ohio St.2d 64, 66,

375 N.E.2d 46, 47 (1978).

{¶12} Initially, “[t]he party moving for summary judgment bears the burden

of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to

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2022 Ohio 416, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/durfor-v-w-mansfield-conservation-club-ohioctapp-2022.