Hurst v. East Coast Hockey League, Inc.
| Decision Date | 13 November 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 26222.,26222. |
| Citation | 637 S.E.2d 560 |
| Parties | Craig A. HURST, Appellant, v. EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE, INC.; Knoxville Cherokees Hockey, Inc., d/b/a Pee Dee Pride Hockey, and d/b/a Florence Pride Hockey; Florence City-County Civic Center Commission d/b/a Florence City-County Civic Center; City of Florence; and County of Florence, Respondents. |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
Stephen J. Wukela, of Florence, for Appellant.
Robert T. King, of Willcox, Buyck & Williams, of Florence, for Respondents.
Craig A. Hurst (Appellant) appeals the circuit court's grant of summary judgment in favor of East Coast Hockey League, Inc.; Knoxville Cherokees Hockey, Inc., d/b/a Pee Dee Pride Jockey, and d/b/a Florence Pride Hockey ("Pride"); Florence City-County Civic Center Commission ("Commission") d/b/a Florence City-County Civic Center ("Civic Center"); City of Florence; and County of Florence (collectively referred to as Respondents). We certified the case for review from the Court of Appeals pursuant to Rule 204(b), SCACR. We affirm.
Appellant filed this negligence action against Respondents for injuries he sustained while attending a Pride hockey game at the Civic Center on January 11, 2002. During pregame warm-ups, Appellant entered the spectator area at the Civic Center through a curtained concourse entrance behind one of the goals. Appellant was struck in the face by a puck while standing behind the goal.
At the time of the accident, the ice rink at the Civic Center was encircled by dasher boards and a protective Plexiglas wall, which was attached to the top of the dasher boards. Also at that time, the Pride was a member of the East Coast Hockey League, Inc., a professional hockey league. The Pride played home games at the Civic Center under a lease with the Commission. The Civic Center was maintained and operated by the Commission, a governmental entity created by the City of Florence and the County of Florence.
After a hearing on the matter, the circuit court determined the risk of pucks leaving the ice rink and entering the spectator area is well-known, obvious, and inherent to the game of hockey. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Respondents based on the doctrine of primary implied assumption of risk.
Did the circuit court err in granting summary judgment?
When reviewing the grant of a summary judgment motion, the appellate court applies the same standard which governs the trial court under Rule 56(c), SCRCP: summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In determining whether any triable issues of fact exist, the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. On appeal from an order granting summary judgment the appellate court will review all ambiguities, conclusions, and inferences arising in and from the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party below. Osborne v. Adams, 346 S.C. 4, 7, 550 S.E.2d 319, 321 (2001).
Appellant argues the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment for Respondents based on the doctrine of primary implied assumption of risk. We disagree.
To prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove the following elements: (1) a duty owed to the plaintiff by the defendant, (2) a breach of that duty by the defendant, and (3) damages proximately resulting from the breach of duty. Steinke v. S.C. Dep't of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, 336 S.C. 373, 387, 520 S.E.2d 142, 149 (1999). The court must determine, as a matter of law, whether the law recognizes a particular duty. If there is no duty, then the defendant in a negligence action is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Id. at 387, 520 S.E.2d at 149.
"Primary implied assumption of risk arises when the plaintiff impliedly assumes those risks that are inherent in a particular activity." Davenport v. Cotton Hope Plantation Horizontal Prop. Regime, 333 S.C. 71, 81, 508 S.E.2d 565, 570 (1998) (emphasis in original).1 The Davenport Court further explained the doctrine as follows:
Primary implied assumption of risk is not a true affirmative defense, but instead goes to the initial determination of whether the defendant's legal duty encompasses the risk encountered by the plaintiff.... [T]he Tennessee Supreme Court summarized the doctrine in the following way:
In its primary sense, implied assumption of risk focuses not on the plaintiff's conduct in assuming the risk, but on the defendant's general duty of care.... Clearly primary implied assumption of risk is but another way of stating the conclusion that a plaintiff has failed to establish a prima facie case [of negligence] by failing to establish that a duty exists.
[Perez v. McConkey, 872 S.W.2d 897, 902 (Tenn.1994)]. In this sense, primary implied assumption of risk is simply a part of the initial negligence analysis.
333 S.C. at 81, 508 S.E.2d at 570 (internal citations omitted); see also id. at 81 n. 3, 508 S.E.2d at 570 n. 3 ().
The issue before the Court is whether Respondents owed a duty of care to protect Appellant from flying pucks. We find Gunther instructive because the risk of being injured by a foul ball at a baseball game and the risk of being injured by a flying puck at a hockey game are similar risks. See also Modec v. City of Eveleth, 224 Minn. 556, 29 N.W.2d 453, 456 (1947) (); Pestalozzi v. Philadelphia Flyers Ltd., 394 Pa.Super. 420, 576 A.2d 72, 74 (1990) (). In Gunther, a spectator who was struck in the face by a foul ball during a baseball game sued the owner of the baseball team and the stadium alleging negligence. 854 F.Supp. at 425. The Gunther Court found "the vast majority of jurisdictions recognize this hazard [of being struck by a foul ball] to be a risk that is assumed by the spectators because it remains after due care has been exercised (erecting a screen), and it is not the result of negligence by the ball club." Id. at 428 (citing Anderson v. Kansas City Baseball Club, 231 S.W.2d 170 (Mo.1950)). The Gunther Court then found the spectator voluntarily assumed the risk of her injuries and granted summary judgment to the owner and the stadium.
Under the doctrine of implied primary assumption of risk, Respondents' duty of care did not encompass the risk involved. The risk of a hockey spectator being struck by a flying puck is inherent to the game of hockey and is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Singleton v. Sherer
...duty by a negligent act or omission; and (3) damage proximately resulting from the breach of duty. See Hurst v. East Coast Hockey League, Inc., 371 S.C. 33, 37, 637 S.E.2d 560, 562 (2006). The court must determine, as a matter of law, whether the law recognizes a particular duty. Id. "If th......
-
Humphrey v. Day & Zimmerman Int'l, Inc.
...a legally recognized duty, the defendant in a negligence action is entitled to a judgment as matter of law. Hurst v. East Coast Hockey League, 371 S.C. 33, 637 S.E.2d 560, 562 (2006). In South Carolina, “there are four requirements to establishing the defense of assumption of risk: (1) the ......
-
Cole v. Boy Scouts of Am.
...legally recognized duty, the defendant in a negligence action is entitled to a judgment as matter of law. Hurst v. East Coast Hockey League, 371 S.C. 33, 37, 637 S.E.2d 560, 562 (2006). In Hurst, we considered the application of assumption of risk in a sports context. The plaintiff was inju......
-
Zulveta v. State Auto. Mut. Ins., Co.
...(2) a breach of that duty by the defendant, and (3) damages proximately resulting from the breach of duty. Hurst v. E. Coast Hockey League, Inc., 637 S.E.2d 560, 562 (S.C. 2006). To establish a claim for breach of fiduciary duty, the plaintiff must prove (1) the existence of a fiduciary dut......