Miller v. Rinker Boat Co., Inc.

• Decision Date: 15 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. 4-03-0541.,4-03-0541.
• Citation: 352 Ill. App.3d 648,815 N.E.2d 1219,287 Ill.Dec. 416
• Parties: Angela L. MILLER, Individually and as the Independent Executrix of the Estate of Darrin R. Miller, Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. RINKER BOAT COMPANY, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

815 N.E.2d 1219

352 Ill. App.3d 648

287 Ill.Dec. 416

Angela L. MILLER, Individually and as the Independent Executrix of the Estate of Darrin R. Miller, Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. RINKER BOAT COMPANY, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 4-03-0541.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District.

Argued February 25, 2004.

Decided September 15, 2004.

Rehearing Denied October 15, 2004.

Brett K. Gorman (argued), Schmiedeskamp, Robertson, Neu & Mitchell, Quincy, for Angela L. Miller.

Karen L. Kendall (argued), Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, Peoria, Frederick P. Velde, Matthew R. Booker, Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen, Springfield, for Rinker Boat Company, Inc.

Justice MYERSCOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:

In July 2000, plaintiffs, Angela L. Miller (hereinafter plaintiff), filed a complaint individually and as executrix of her deceased husband's estate against defendant, Rinker Boat Company, Inc., an Indiana corporation, alleging wrongful death of her husband, Darrin R. Miller (decedent), based on strict liability and negligence. In October 2002, defendant filed a motion for summary judgment. In January 2003, after a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted summary judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appeals, arguing (1) in granting summary judgment to defendant on the strict-liability count, the court erred in concluding that plaintiff has not sufficiently demonstrated the existence of a design defect that made the boat unreasonably dangerous; (2) the court erred in finding defendant owed no duty to warn, or, in the alternative, defendant provided adequate warning as matter of law; and (3) in granting summary judgment to defendant on the negligence count, the court erred in concluding that plaintiff failed to present any evidence to support any breaches of duty by defendant and failed to prove defendant's breaches, if any, proximately caused decedent's death. We reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural Background

On July 24, plaintiff filed a wrongful-death complaint against defendant based on a strict-liability theory and also a negligence theory. Specifically, plaintiff claimed that the boat in question had the following defects:

(1) The boat had slippery surfaces in locations utilized by passengers for ingress to and egress from the passenger compartment;

(2) the boat had no antiskid surface along the rear in a location that passengers had to stand on and cross for ingress to and egress from the passenger area; and

(3) the boat contained no markings, warnings, or instructions to discourage and prevent passengers from standing on the slippery surfaces described above.

On October 21, 2002, defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing as follows:

(1) Under the strict-liability count,

(a) plaintiff did not sufficiently prove that defendant manufactured a boat that was defective or unreasonably dangerous, and

(b) defendant had no duty to warn because plaintiff complains about a danger that is open and obvious, and, in any event, defendant provided adequate warning in the instructional manual;

(2) under the negligence count,

(a) plaintiff failed to demonstrate that defendant breached its duty of care to decedent, and

(b) defendant owed no duty to warn, or defendant provided adequate warning in the instruction manual.

Defendant attached to its memorandum of law in support of its motion for summary judgment a photocopied picture of the Rinker 232 Captiva Cuddy boat and the Rinker owner's manual for Cuddy Cabin boats.

On November 21, 2002, plaintiff filed a response to defendant's motion for summary judgment and a memorandum of law opposing summary judgment. Plaintiff attached to her memorandum of law the following: (1) plaintiff's deposition, (2) Randy Rinker's deposition, (3) Angela Walker's deposition, (4) Robert "Whitey" Walker's deposition, (5) Todd Miller's deposition, (6) James Allen's deposition, (7) Lloyd Standridge's deposition, (8) Dr. Travis Hindman's deposition, (9) Dr. Christopher Long's deposition, (10) Kim Slocum's deposition, (11) Robert Dumford's deposition, (12) Christian Von Der Hyde's deposition, (13) U.S. Paint Company's (U.S. Paint) instructions for mixing sand-and-paint mixture, (14) a Rinker owner's manual, and (15) Tom Richardson's deposition. Plaintiff's memorandum of law in opposition to the motion for summary judgment and the attachments thereto set forth the following evidence.

1. The Incident

This suit arose from a drowning incident that occurred on August 30, 1998, on the Mississippi River. On July 17, 1998, decedent purchased a 1998 Model 232 Captive Cuddy motor boat from the Great Lakes Boat Company (Great Lakes) in Hamilton, Illinois. Defendant manufactured the boat, and Great Lakes is an authorized dealer for defendant. Decedent's family members testified that this is the first boat that decedent personally owned. Decedent, however, was raised around the boats that his family owned and was familiar with boating on the Mississippi River.

On August 30, 1998, after owning the boat for over six weeks, decedent took plaintiff and three friends (Kent Sawyer, who died shortly thereafter, Angela Walker, and Whitey) out on the Mississippi River to go to an annual boat festival on Hog's Back Island. Plaintiff stated that they left at about 11 a.m. from a public boat ramp in Warsaw, Illinois, which is about 10 miles away from her home in Hamilton, Illinois. Whitey stated that Hog's Back Island is just north of Quincy, Illinois, and is about 30 miles away from Warsaw. When the group arrived at the island, the shore was already full of boats. They anchored behind other boats out in the water and stayed there for about three to four hours.

Plaintiff and Whitey testified that the group brought with them a cooler of beer and soft drinks and part of a bottle of Crown Royal. They estimated the cooler contained about a case or a case and a half of beer. Whitey also stated the bottle of Crown Royal was about one-quarter full. Everyone drank beer except Angela Walker, who was pregnant at the time. Angela Walker and Whitey testified that decedent, plaintiff, Kent, and Whitey each drank about the same amount of beer. The group did not drink the Crown Royal until they were on their way home. Whitey stated that decedent, Kent, and he "probably had about two [Crown Royals] a piece [sic]" and finished what was left in the bottle. Whitey further estimated that "over the course of the day" he drank "somewhere between seven to nine" drinks, and decedent drank "probably the same amount." No one is certain, however, how many beers were left in the cooler and exactly how much and what decedent drank.

At about 4:30 p.m., the group decided to leave Hog's Back Island. On the way home, decedent wanted to go tubing. To prepare for tubing, decedent and Kent removed the tube, pump, rope, and other necessary items from the boat's storage area. Whitey and Angela Walker testified that, while Kent was blowing up the tube, decedent stepped onto the engine-cover area (transom) from the rear bench seat with ropes in his hand, preparing to tie the tube to the back of the boat. Whitey stated he was standing, facing decedent, when decedent was stepping up to the rear deck. As Whitey was turning away from decedent (from the stern side to the port side of the boat) to get into the driver's seat, he heard a "squeak" and saw decedent's feet "in the corner of my eye slide up to this [port side] direction." Whitey admitted that he only "caught the motion of [decedent's] one foot in the air" and he did not see decedent fall. Whitey then heard one hard "thump," and he immediately stood up on the bench seat and looked at the water to see if decedent was okay. Whitey stated he initially thought decedent might be "goofing off," but at the same time, he was also "a little concerned" because of "how hard the thump was on the back of the boat."

Angela Walker stated that she also did not see decedent fall because she was watching Kent blow up the tube. Angela Walker stated that she heard a "thump" and a "splash." Angela Walker did not know the source of the sound, but she immediately "stood up" to see "what was going on," and she saw decedent's body "already under the water." Angela Walker recalled that decedent was "face up * * * lying parallel with the stern of the boat," and then "just went down" under the water. Angela Walker stated that when decedent's body did not resurface, everyone started yelling for decedent to "come back" and "quit messing with us." Angela Walker and Whitey recalled that in "probably less than five seconds," Kent jumped into the water to look for decedent. Whitey then jumped into the water to help Kent. Soon after, plaintiff also jumped in. Angela Walker described plaintiff as "hysterical," crying for help while floating in the water. Angela Walker jumped into the water soon after "to get a life jacket to [plaintiff] cause [sic] [she] knew [plaintiff's] state was already going to start deteriorating real quick."

Plaintiff testified that she witnessed the entire slip and fall. She stated she was sitting in the chair next to the driver's seat, and, as decedent was preparing to tie the rope to the back of the boat, she swivelled around to watch decedent. Plaintiff stated that she watched her husband because she wanted to go home and was not happy with his decision to go tubing. Plaintiff saw decedent step from the floor of the boat onto the rear bench with his right foot, then onto the transom with his left foot. Plaintiff did not recall whether decedent had anything in his hands. After decedent stepped on the transom, he took another step with his right foot into the rear starboard stern corner. At that time, plaintiff saw decedent's right foot "just come right out from underneath of him" and his legs "just went up in the air." Plaintiff stated that she remembered decedent's back "went down" from the side and decedent's head was "like snapped." Plaintiff heard "a big[,] loud...