Palla v. L M Sports, Inc., 2:16-cv-02865-JAM-EFB
| Decision Date | 17 May 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 2:16-cv-02865-JAM-EFB,2:16-cv-02865-JAM-EFB |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
| Parties | Manisha PALLA, Plaintiff, v. L M SPORTS, INC. dba Lakeside Marina and dba Action Watersports of Tahoe ; L T Leasing, Inc. ; Paul Garcia; and Does 1-50, inclusive, Defendants. And Related Actions. |
Roger A. Dreyer, Anthony Joseph Garilli, Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora, LLP, Sacramento, CA, for Plaintiff.
Alena A. Eckhardt, Amee Ann Mikacich, Forrest Booth, Pamela Lynn Schultz, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, San Francisco, CA, Dena S. Aghabeg Cogswell Nakazawa and Chang Long Beach, CA for Defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Manisha Palla ("Plaintiff") sued Defendants L M Sports, L T Leasing, and Paul Garcia for negligence following an accident on Lake Tahoe that resulted in the amputation of her right leg. L M Sports and L T Leasing (collectively "Defendants") filed a limitation of liability action under 46 U.S.C. §§ 30505 et seq. The Court related the two actions. See Related Case Order, ECF No. 12. Garcia made an initial appearance and participated in the suit through June 2018. Following the withdrawal of Garcia's attorney that month, ECF No. 72, Garcia did not make any other appearances until he showed up to testify during the limitation action on March 4, 2019. Neither party has attempted to enter a default against Garcia.
Palla invoked the Court's diversity jurisdiction as well as its admiralty jurisdiction. First Am. Compl. ("FAC") ¶¶ 2-4. Defendants' limitation action also invoked the court's admiralty jurisdiction. The Court decided to first hold a bench trial on Defendants' limitation action and allow Palla a jury trial on the issue of damages if she made a showing of negligence during the limitation action. Palla v. L M Sports, No. 2:16-cv-02975-JAM-EFB, 2019 WL 427300 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 4, 2019).
The Court held a ten-day bench trial beginning February 25, 2019. The parties offered in-person and deposition testimony from the marina owner, marina employees, two first responders, four experts1 , and the thirteen (13) people who were on the boat at the time of the accident, including Palla and Garcia. The parties did not stipulate to any facts before or during trial.
1. L M Sports is a California corporation that does business as Lakeside Marina.
2. Lakeside Marina is one of four marinas Bob and Tamara Hasset own and operate on Lake Tahoe.
3. The Hassets' other marinas are Timber Cove Marina, Round Hill Pines Marina, and Camp Richardson.
4. At the time of the incident, the Hassets also owned and operated Meeks Bay Marina.
5. In 2016, the Hassets owned 54-57 boats across five (5) marinas.
6. In 2016, the Hassets had 12-15 boats, eight (8) personal watercrafts, and 18-25 employees at Lakeside Marina.
7. The Hassets also own L T Leasing, Inc., a California corporation they have used to lease boats to their marinas since 1992.
8. Robert Hasset is the President of L M Sports and the Chief Financial Officer of L T Leasing, Inc.
9. Tamara Hasset is the President of L T Leasing and the Chief Financial Officer of L M Sports.
10. The Hassets decide which boats will be purchased and the activities for which they will be used.
11. As President of L M sports, Robert Hasset (hereinafter "Hasset") sets forth the policies and procedures of Lakeside Marina.
12. He hires general managers at each marina to train employees and supervise operations.
13. During the summer of 2016, Dan Meeks was the general manager at Lakeside Marina.
14. As part of his general manager duties, Meeks conducted monthly safety meetings for the Lakeside Marina staff.
15. Hasset did not provide Meeks with written descriptions of his job responsibilities or instruct him to keep written records on the marina's employees.
16. Hasset did not require Meeks to document what was discussed at the safety meetings he conducted.
17. In July 2016, Manisha Palla, Evan Botwin, Nick Carscadden, Frances Copeland, Paul Garcia, Benoit Gautier, Alvaro Herranz, Elena Legramanti, Erlinda Lesi, Sean O'Dea, Efe Özyurt, Regan Roberts, and Christa Wolf ("the Palla group") were in Dublin, CA as part of an international training rotation with their employer, System Application Products ("SAP").
18. Members of the Palla group came from different SAP offices around the world, so they did not know each other prior to the Dublin training.
19. Palla worked in the Chicago, Illinois office.
20. Garcia worked in the Paris, France office.
21. Botwin worked in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office.
22. Botwin used Lakeside Marina's online reservation system to reserve a boat and an innertube for Sunday, July 24, 2016.
23. Botwin selected the 1997 Four Winns because it had the highest maximum capacity.
24. The Palla group drove to Lakeside Marina in separate cars—the car with Botwin, Carscadden, O'Dea, Özyurt, and Roberts arrived at Lakeside Marina first.
25. Botwin, Carscadden, O'Dea, Özyurt, and Roberts went into the rental hut to check-in for the reservation.
26. On July 24, 2016, Julie Hontos was the only employee working in the rental hut.
27. Hontos did not provide any information about the type of boat Botwin reserved or what type of propulsion system it had; nor was she trained to.
28. Hontos gave Botwin, Carscadden, O'Dea, Özyurt, and Roberts a map of the lake, and told them to avoid the shallow areas.
29. Hontos also gave them two forms—one was a rental agreement that included a release of liability and the other was a list of rules and regulations.
30. Botwin, Carscadden, O'Dea, Özyurt, and Roberts signed the rental agreement.
31. The rules and regulations sheet only had one space for a signature; Botwin signed it.
32. Neither form included specific tubing instructions or contained specific warnings about the dangers of propeller strikes.
33. Hontos did not tell Botwin that the eight (8) other people listed on the reservation were required to sign the rules or the rental agreement.
34. Neither of the two forms Hontos gave Botwin said that everyone on the reservation had to sign them.
35. Prior to July 24, 2016, Lakeside Marina did not provide its rental hut staff a written protocol for how to get renters to sign the rental contract.
36. When Botwin, Carscadden, O'Dea, Özyurt, and Roberts were inside, the other eight (8) members of the group arrived.
37. The new arrivals congregated around the picnic tables outside the rental hut until the other five (5) came outside.
38. Nobody at Lakeside Marina instructed the group that they were all supposed to go inside the rental hut.
39. Lakeside Marina did not have any signs that instructed all members of a reservation to go inside to sign forms.
40. Soon after Botwin, Carscadden, O'Dea, Özyurt, and Roberts came back outside, Mathan Foss met the Palla group near the picnic tables and led them toward the dock.
41. Foss was the dockhand in charge of boarding the Palla group onto the boat.
42. Dan Meeks hired and trained Foss to work as a dockhand for the Summer 2014 boating season.
43. All of Lakeside Marina's dockhand training was done orally, without aid of any written documents.
44. Foss's training included shadowing other dockhands; being shadowed by Lakeside supervisors as he carried out dockhand responsibilities; and learning how to launch boats and check for invasive species.
45. At the end of his training, Foss had to take a computerized test on how to properly check for invasive species before launching boats.
46. Foss did not, however, take any written tests on how to properly give safety instructions to renters; nor was he ever given any written instructions on how to properly give safety instructions.
47. As the dockhand assigned to the Palla group on July 24, 2016, Foss gave instructions on how to operate the rental boat to the boat operators, Garcia and Botwin. The instructions were known as the "spiel."
48. Foss also drove the rental boat out of the marina for the Palla group.
49. Per Hasset's instructions, Meeks trained Foss that dockhands only needed to provide boating information to the operator(s) of the rental boat.
50. Meeks trained Foss to identify the operator(s) and ask whether the operator(s) had any boating experience.
51. Meeks trained Foss to show the operator(s) the boat, pointing out the propellers, fire extinguisher, ski flag, oar, life jackets, throw cushion/flotation device, kill cord, throttle, blower, steering wheel, and the marina's phone number (located on the back of the rental contract).
52. Meeks trained Foss to tell the operator(s) how to pick up tubers: circle the boat around so that the tuber is on the driver's side, shut the boat off, and let the tuber swim to the boat, using the ladder to board.
53. Meeks trained Foss to instruct the operator(s) how to click the lever at the bottom of the throttle to move it forward, backward, and into neutral.
54. Meeks trained Foss to explain to the operator(s) that they would be financially responsible for any damage caused to the propeller.
55. Meeks did not train Foss to discuss the dangers of propeller strikes with the operator(s).
56. Meeks did not train Foss to show the operator(s) the proximity of the propellers to the boarding ladder.
57. Meeks did not train Foss to ensure the operator(s) relayed the safety instructions to the boat passengers.
58. Meeks did not train Foss to ask tubing passengers whether they had any experience tubing.
59. Meeks did not train Foss to give any safety instructions to customers who would be tubing.
60. Meeks trained Foss to drive the rented boat out of the marina for rental groups so the operator(s) did not damage any of the boats in the marina.
61. Foss completed his first period of employment with Lakeside Marina at the end of the Summer 2014 boating season.
62. Meeks re-hired Foss to work as a dockhand for Lakeside Marina two summers later.
63. Foss did not receive new training when he came back to work for Lakeside in 2016.
64. On July 24, 2016, Foss...
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