Estate of McFarlin v. Lakeside Marina, Inc.

979 F. Supp. 2d 891, 2013 WL 5770997, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152999
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedOctober 24, 2013
DocketNo. C12-4055-MWB
StatusPublished

This text of 979 F. Supp. 2d 891 (Estate of McFarlin v. Lakeside Marina, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of McFarlin v. Lakeside Marina, Inc., 979 F. Supp. 2d 891, 2013 WL 5770997, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152999 (N.D. Iowa 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MARK W. BENNETT, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ...................................892

A. Factual Background............... 892

B. Procedural Background.................................. 896

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS......................................................896

A. Summary Judgment Standards.......................................896

B. Does Lakeside Have A Duty To Warn Boaters?......... 898

III. CONCLUSION..........................................................901

This case arises from a terrible boating tragedy. On May 31, 2010, plaintiff Jamie Laass was riding with her two children, ten-year old David Paul McFarlin and S.L., in a boat operating on Storm Lake when the boat struck a submerged dredge pipe causing the boat’s motor to flip up into the boat with the propeller still running. The motor, including the spinning prop, struck David, causing his death. The issue that confronts me here is whether the defendant marina, ft-om which the boat was launched, owed a duty to warn plaintiffs about the dredging operations on Storm Lake.

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

I set out only those facts, disputed and undisputed, sufficient to put in context the parties’ arguments concerning the defendants’ motion for summary judgment and resistance to it. At least for the purposes of summary judgment, the facts recited here are undisputed. I will discuss additional factual allegations, and the extent to which they are or are not disputed or material, if necessary, in my legal analysis.

Defendant Lakeside Marina, Inc. (“Lakeside”) is a privately. owned Iowa [893]*893corporation doing business in Buena Vista County, Iowa. Jim Davis and his wife, Mary Jo Davis (collectively, “the Davises”), are Lakeside’s owners and managers. The Davises do not own the premises on which Lakeside is located, but lease the property from the City of Lakeside, Iowa (“the City”). On March 5, 1998, the City and Lakeside entered into a lease agreement under which the City leased lakefront property to Lakeside for 25 years (“the Lease”).

The Lease provides, in pertinent part, that:

3. TENANT agrees that during the terms of this lease, that they will use and occupy the leased premises for lawful purposes, but primarily for the operation of a boat marina. TENANT is not restricted only to the operation of the demised premises as a boat marina, provided that the additional, lawful business purposes bear some logical and reasonable relationship to the recreational use of the lake. TENANT also covenants and agrees that boat marina services shall be available to the public a minimum from Memorial Day through Labor Day of each year.
4. TENANT covenants and agrees to maintain the demised premises in a reasonably clean and presentable condition, to pick up debris, and to maintain all buildings and other structures in a serviceable, safe and presentable condition.

The Lease at ¶¶ 3-4; Plaintiffs’ App. at 66. The Lease further provides that:

9. TENANT will protect, indemnify and save harmless the landlord from and against any and all loss, costs, damage and expenses including attorney fees and expenses occasioned by or arising out of, any accident or other occurrence causing or inflicting injury and/or damage to any person or property, happening or done, in, upon or about the leased premises or due directly or indirectly to the tenancy, use or occupancy thereof or any part thereof by the TENANT or any person claiming to act under or at the direction of the TENANT.

The Lease at ¶ 9; Plaintiffs’ App. at 67-68. The Lease also contains the following provision:

11. TENANT further covenants and agrees that it will, at its own expense, procure and maintain casualty and liability insurance in a responsible company or companies authorized to do business in the state of Iowa with coverages to include the docks and appurtenant structures ascending into or abutting Storm Lake (the lake not the city), in amounts not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) for any one injured and one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) for any one accident (occurrence) and with limits not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for property damage protecting the CITY against such claims, damages, costs and expenses on account of injury to any person or persons by reason of such casualty, accident or happening on or about the demised premises during the terms of this lease.

The Lease at ¶ 11; Plaintiffs’ App. at 68. In addition, the Lease provides that:

15. TENANT agrees that the above described leased premises will not be used for any unlawful purpose and that the right of the public to enter said premises for any lawful purpose is expressly preserved.
16. TENANT agrees to maintain a boat marina on said premises which shall be available for the accommodation of the public and for the purpose of encouraging and facilitating recreational use of Storm Lake by citizens of Iowa [894]*894for boating, fishing and related purposes.
19. TENANT is advised that all signs that it intends to use on the above described premises, must comply with the city ordinances of the city of Lakeside, Iowa.
23. The demised premises are being used by the TENANT for the principal purposes of providing boating and similar recreational services for the use and benefit of the citizens of Lakeside, Storm Lake, and the public at large.

The Lease at ¶¶ 15-16, 19, and 23; Plaintiffs’ App. at 69-71.

Lakeside is located on property adjacent to the east side of Storm Lake. It provides the public free access to Storm Lake via a boat ramp on its premises. Lakeside also provides supplemental services to boaters, including: renting docking space; providing some engine repair; renting campsites; and selling gasoline, bait, fishing licenses, snacks, and beverages at its convenience store. Lakeside does not charge a fee of any kind for use of the boat ramp on its premises. No one in plaintiffs’ boating party was charged a fee for use of Lakeside’s boat ramp.

On May 31, 2010, Harry Foote, David McFarlin, Jamie Laass, her two children, David Paul McFarlin and S.L., and two other children traveled to Storm Lake to go fishing from their boat. Foote had been boating on Storm Lake three or four times before May 2010. Foote was aware about the dredging operations taking place on the lake. Foote and the others in his party arrived at Lakeside at approximately 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and launched their boat from the Lakeside boat ramp. While at Lakeside, Jamie Laass purchased a fishing license from Lakeside’s convenience store, but no one in their boating party was charged any money for using Lakeside’s boat ramp. After launching his boat, once out of the no wake zone, Foote began to accelerate and head west across the lake toward the dredging operations.

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Bluebook (online)
979 F. Supp. 2d 891, 2013 WL 5770997, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152999, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-mcfarlin-v-lakeside-marina-inc-iand-2013.