Estate of Mcfarlin v. Lakeside Marina, Inc.
| Decision Date | 24 October 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. C12–4055–MWB.,C12–4055–MWB. |
| Citation | 979 F.Supp.2d 891 |
| Parties | ESTATE OF David Paul McFARLIN, by its Personal Representative, Jamie Laass; Jamie Laass, Individually; Jamie Laass, as Parent and Next Friend of S.L., Plaintiffs, v. LAKESIDE MARINA, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Stanley E. Munger, Munger, Reinschmidt & Denne, Sioux City, IA, for Plaintiffs.
David L. Phipps, Stephen E. Doohen, Whitfield & Eddy, PLC, Des Moines, IA, for Defendant.
B.
B.
| III. |
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 corporation 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 for 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. As he approached the dredge, Foote became confused by the warning buoys and thought he was being directed to maneuver his boat between the main dredge and the auxiliary dredge, rather than being directed to avoid the area between the two dredges. Because of this confusion, Foote continued to drive his boat between the two dredges. As Foote drove closer to the pipe that connected the two dredges, he approached approximately six fishing boats, including Mr. and Mrs. Charles Greth's boat, who were fishing close to the pipe. The Greths began signaling Foote to slow his boat down by waiving their arms and making hand signals. These were signals they had learned, through boating experience, meant a boat should slow down. Foote did not see the Greths' signals and continued to proceed toward the pipe without slowing down. At this point, Foote's boat's motor assembly hit the dredge pipe, causing the outboard motor to flip up into the boat. David McFarlin was hit by the outboard motor's still rotating propellers, fatally injuring him. After the collision, Foote returned to the public boat ramp where emergency personnel were located. At the hospital, Foote told Sheriff Gary Launderville that he had become confused by the placement of the buoys. Foote explained that, as a result of his confusion, he drove his boat between the dredges, rather than around them. Foote viewed his confusion as the cause of the accident. The area on Storm Lake where the accident occurred is not part of Lakeside's leasehold.
Since 2002, there have been ongoing dredging operations on Storm Lake. In 2002, the dredging operations were run by the State of Iowa. Since then, the dredging operations have been run by the Lake Improvement Commission (“LIC”). Patrick J. Kelly is the Public Works Director for the City of Storm Lake, Iowa. As Public Works Director, Kelly is “the direct supervisor of the dredging on Storm Lake and the City of Storm Lake employee responsible for structures maintained by the City of Storm Lake on and along the lake.” Kelly Aff. at ¶ 1; Defendant's App. at 001. Kelly maintained this supervisory role even though LIC was running the dredging operation.
Over the years, Lakeside has received brochures from the City that provided warning information about the dredging operations at Storm Lake. Every year, Lakeside placed the brochures next to its convenience store cash register. Kelly has seen the brochures on Lakeside's convenience store counter. Lakeside's employees and managers answered questions from the public about the dredging operations by, inter alia, directing those individuals to the brochures provided by the City. Jamie Laass admits there is a “possibility” that the brochures were present in the Lakeside convenience store on the date of the accident and that she simply did not notice the brochures when she was in the convenience store to buy a...
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...1994); Princess Hotels International v. Superior Court, 33 Cal. App. 4th 645 (Cal. Ct. App. 1995); and Estate of McFarlin v. Lakeside Marina, Inc., 979 F. Supp. 2d 891 (N.D. Iowa 2013). Again, the Court is not convinced. In Darby, the New York Court of Appeals considered whether an innkeepe......