Griffith v. Kuester
| Decision Date | 25 January 2011 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 09–159–DLB. |
| Citation | 780 F.Supp.2d 536 |
| Parties | Ann M. GRIFFITH, Personal Representative/Administratrix of the Estate of Grant A. Griffith, Deceased, Plaintiffv.Donald S. KUESTER, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Kentucky |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Mark H. Verwys, Sandra J. Densham, Plunkett Cooney, Grand Rapids, MI, for Plaintiff.Duane R. Skavdahl, Lindsay Allison Smith, Smith, Rolfes & Skavdahl Co., LPA, Ft. Mitchell, KY, for Defendants.
Plaintiff Ann M. Griffith, individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Grant A. Griffith, commenced this action against Defendants Donald and Cathleen Kuester after a tragic boating accident on Lake Williamstown in Grant County, Kentucky wherein Grant Griffith was killed after being struck by the Kuester's motorboat. Plaintiff alleges violations of common law and statutory negligence. This Court's jurisdiction is based on diversity and therefore Kentucky law controls.
This matter is currently before the Court on Defendant Donald Kuester's Motions for Partial Summary Judgment as to Mr. Kuester's vicarious liability pursuant to the Family Purpose Doctrine and City of Williamstown, KY Ordinance 2008–17, (Docs.# 20, 21), Plaintiff's Cross Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to Mr. Kuester's vicarious liability pursuant to the Family Purpose Doctrine, (Doc. # 28), and Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to Defendant Cathleen Kuester's common law and statutory negligence (Doc. # 31). Oral argument was held on October 22, 2010, on all four motions. Mark H. Verwys and Sandra J. Densham appeared on behalf of the Plaintiff, and Duane R. Skavdahl and Lindsay Allison Smith appeared on behalf of the Defendants. The matter is now ripe for review.
For the reasons set forth below, because the family purpose doctrine and the Williamstown Ordinance are inapplicable to the present case, Defendant Donald Kuester's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment regarding the family purpose doctrine (Doc. # 20) and Motion for Partial Summary Judgment regarding the City of Williamstown, KY Ordinance (Doc. # 21) are hereby GRANTED. For the same reasons, Plaintiff's Cross Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. # 28) is DENIED.
Moreover, despite evidence that Mrs. Kuester's July 3, 2009 operation of the MasterCraft may have violated several Kentucky statutory and regulatory provisions with respect to her duty of care, because there are genuine issues of material fact regarding whether that purported breach was the proximate cause of Mr. Griffith's death, Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to Mrs. Kuester's common law and statutory negligence claim (Doc. # 31) is DENIED.
Donald and Cathleen Kuester owned a waterfront home on Lake Williamstown in Grant County, Kentucky. They also jointly owned a 2002 MasterCraft 205 VRS Motorboat (MasterCraft). The Kuesters used this boat for the pleasure and enjoyment of their family and friends, including entertaining Mr. Kuester's employees at an annual party. The MasterCraft was only driven by the Kuesters and their two sons. Mrs. Kuester frequently drove the boat and estimated that she had driven it hundreds of hours prior to the July 3, 2009 accident.
On the Fourth of July weekend, the Kuesters generally held an open invitation for friends and family to visit the lake house. On July 2 and 3, 2009, several family and friends took advantage of the Kuester's hospitality, including their son Matthew and daughter-in-law Jenny and their two children; Angela and Joel Ash and their three children; Gary and Cynthia Hassman; and Jeremy and Amber Hassman and their two children. However, Mr. Kuester had to work that weekend in Cincinnati and was not at the lake house at any time prior to the accident. Mr. Kuester was aware that Mrs. Kuester drove the boat in his absence and never told her that he did not want her driving the boat when he was not present. Mrs. Kuester did not need Mr. Kuester's permission to drive the boat.
On July 3, 2009, sometime after lunch, Mrs. Kuester invited her guests to go out onto the MasterCraft. The younger kids wanted to go tubing, so Mrs. Kuester began pulling passengers in a loop around the lake. Just prior to the accident, Mrs. Kuester was pulling Joel Ash and his daughter on one of the tubes. Cindy Hassman, Amber Hassman, and Angela Ash were passengers in the MasterCraft at that time, along with four Hassman and Ash children.1 The MasterCraft was traveling in a west to east direction on the south side of the lake, going just above idle speed, for the comfort level of the young tuber.2 Mrs. Kuester did not look at her speedometer at the time, but estimated that the boat was traveling at approximately five to ten miles per hour.3 This speed, in between idling and planning,4 caused the bow of the boat to be up and created a blind spot directly in front of the boat.5
At about the same time, Mr. Griffith was also on Williamstown Lake with four friends, Jacob Young, Mike Packard, Chad King and J.P. Milburn. After spending some time swimming and talking in the cove, the men boarded Young's 1981 Celebrity sterndrive boat (Celebrity) to go pick up Young's sister who was waiting at Ruby's Boat Dock. Packard and Griffith wanted to water ski, so Young decided to tow them on the way over to his sister.6 The path of the Celebrity was also west to east. Packard went first and, after falling twice, got back in the boat. Then Griffith asked if he could go because he had not been water skiing since he was a small child. His first time up, Griffith only made it about five or ten feet before falling over. Young then looped the Celebrity back around Griffith to give him the tow rope.7 Young got the Celebrity back facing east and straightened out to the point where the rope was just about taut, ready to pull Griffith out the water again. At that time, Milburn noticed a boat with its bow raised up, the MasterCraft, coming straight at Griffith. At this point, there are several factual disputes as to how the ensuing accident unfolded.
According to the passengers in the Celebrity, the MasterCraft was traveling in a straight line towards Griffith and the Celebrity, and, had Griffith not been in the water, the Celebrity would have been struck by the MasterCraft. Despite this assertion, the location of the Celebrity via-a-vis the MasterCraft is called into question by several of the witnesses' testimonies. First, it is undisputed that the MasterCraft was traveling on the south side of the lake at the time the incident occurred.8 If the MasterCraft was traveling in a straight line directly behind the Celebrity, the Celebrity would also have been traveling on the south side of the lake. However, Packard, a Celebrity passenger, testified that the Young boat was in the middle of the lake and closer to the north side when they were ready to pull Griffith up for the second time. The only independent witness, Charlotte Brinneman, also testified that the Young boat was in the middle of the lake and off to the left side of Griffith and the MasterCraft. She explained that the Young boat was at approximately 9:00 to 10:00 o'clock when compared to the MasterCraft. While she only saw the event unfold in a matter of seconds, her testimony establishes that the Young boat was not directly in front of the MasterCraft at some point before the accident occurred. Furthermore, Mrs. Kuester testified that the boat was never in front of her. Although she acknowledged she could not see directly in front of the boat because the bow was raised.
Two of the passengers in the Celebrity estimated the total time that elapsed from when they saw the MasterCraft until it hit Griffith was approximately fifteen to thirty seconds. It is undisputed that the bow of the MasterCraft was raised due to the slow speed it was traveling. However, there appears to be an issue as to how high the bow was in the air. While Milburn testified that the bow was at a forty-five degree angle, so high that he could not see any passengers in the boat, King testified that he could see three heads in the boat. The undisputed testimony also reveals that the MasterCraft never changed its course prior to hitting Mr. Griffith. Mrs. Kuester testified that she always utilized the fold-up bolster, meaning that the front part of the seat was raised so the operator has better visibility. While Mrs. Kuester indicated in her deposition that she was sitting in the driver's seat at the time of the accident, Cindy Hassman testified that Mrs. Kuester had one knee on the seat and was in a standing position.
Once the passengers on the Celebrity saw the MasterCraft heading towards them, they all began to frantically wave their arms and yell. However, Mrs. Kuester and the passengers on the MasterCraft never heard their cries until about the same time, or just after, the boat had already struck Griffith. Young testified that jet skiers also stopped to yell at the MasterCraft passengers, but Milburn testified that he never saw anyone else on the water or docks attempt to warn them.
Once Young realized that the MasterCraft was not stopping, he attempted to pull Griffith out of the way. Young testified at his deposition that he turned the boat north (to the left) and pulled Griffith approximately four to five feet. Despite this attempt, Griffith went under the left side of the MasterCraft. Young also testified that when he pulled Griffith, “he [Griffith] was taking on so much water ... all you could see was his hand waving when he came up, he looked and ducked his head, that's all you seen of him.” (Doc. # 43 at 22). Young's deposition testimony regarding his attempt to pull Griffith out of the way is called into question by the other Celebrity passengers' testimonies and Young's own written statement from the day of the accident. On the day of the...
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