Tarlea v. Crabtree

Decision Date29 September 2004
Docket NumberDocket No. 244330.
Citation687 N.W.2d 333,263 Mich. App. 80
PartiesIn re Estate of Jeremy Allen Tarlea, Deceased. Teodor TARLEA and Julia Tarlea, Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of Jeremy Allen Tarlea, Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Jack CRABTREE, Mike Price, and Randy Dunny, Defendants-Appellants, and Ed Gall and Saline Area Schools, Defendants.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

Frederic M. Rosen, P.C. (by Frederic M. Rosen) (Bendure & Thomas by Mark R. Bendure, of counsel), Detroit, detroit, for the plaintiffs.

Cox, Hodgman & Giarmarco, P.C. (by Timothy J. Mullins and Timothy R. Noonan), Troy, for defendants Crabtree, Price, and Dunny.

Before: SAWYER, P.J., and SAAD and BANDSTRA, JJ.

SAAD, J.

Defendants-appellants Jack Crabtree, Mike Price, and Randy Dunny1 appeal a trial court order that denied their motion for summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(7) on the basis of governmental immunity. We reverse, enter judgment in favor of defendants, and dismiss plaintiffs' claims against defendants.

I. OVERVIEW OF THE CASE

This appeal poses the question whether defendants, high school coaches, are responsible in tort, or are immune from suit, for the unexpected and tragic death of one of forty-one high school football players who attended a three-day, preseason football conditioning camp. The regulations of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) mandate that no fewer than the first three days of football practice each season be conducted with no equipment other than footballs, helmets, and football shoes.2 This regulation was designed to ensure that the players received adequate conditioning before beginning practices in full equipment. The three days of conditioning may be completed at a summer camp as long as teams comply with the no-equipment regulation. The coaches scheduled the three-day camp to comply with this MHSAA-mandated, no-equipment training.

Under Michigan law, defendants are governmental employees and, with limited exceptions, are statutorily entitled to governmental immunity by reason of the governmental tort liability act (GTLA), MCL 691.1401 et. seq. Michigan statutory law provides that a governmental employee is not responsible in tort for personal injuries unless the governmental employee is grossly negligent, which the statute defines as "`conduct so reckless as to demonstrate a substantial lack of concern for whether an injury results.'"3 Further, our Supreme Court has also ruled that no liability attaches to the misconduct of a governmental employee unless the tortious behavior is "the proximate cause"4 of the plaintiff's injuries, that is to say "the one most immediate, efficient, and direct cause...."5

Therefore, for a plaintiff to be successful in a tort action against a governmental employee, the plaintiff must prove both that (1) the governmental employee's conduct demonstrated a substantial lack of concern for whether his conduct would cause injury to the plaintiff, and (2) the alleged misconduct was the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury.

Here, the trial court erroneously concluded that it was for the jury to decide if defendants were entitled to the protection of governmental immunity because the trial court incorrectly ruled that there were issues of fact regarding whether defendants were grossly negligent as defined by the GTLA and whether the alleged tortious conduct was the proximate cause of Tarlea's death, as set forth in the statute and interpreted by our Supreme Court.

If a reasonable person could conclude that the coaches exhibited a "substantial lack of concern," MCL 691.1407(2)(c), for the safety of the students in their charge, then this matter clearly should be submitted to a jury for the ultimate determination of liability. If, on the other hand, as here, no reasonable person could so conclude, then the trial court is obliged, under Michigan law, to summarily dismiss this suit. And, because no reasonable person could conclude that these coaches acted in substantial disregard for the safety of the students, or that the coaches' conduct was the proximate cause of Tarlea's death, the trial court clearly erred in failing to summarily dismiss this case, and we reverse the decision of the trial court and enter judgment dismissing this suit against these coaches.

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Jeremy Tarlea was a high school student who was also a second-year member of the varsity football team at Saline High School ("the school"), which team was coached by defendants. In August 2000, the school scheduled a three-day, preseason conditioning camp for the football team. The purpose of the camp was to provide the players with physical conditioning without pads and equipment before starting practices, scrimmages, and later games, in full equipment, pads, and helmets.

No player was permitted to participate in the camp without a physical examination performed by a physician, and each was required to submit a medical clearance from his physician. Dr. Yuktanand Singh, Tarlea's uncle and family physician, testified that he conducted the mandatory physical four days before camp and found Tarlea to be in completely normal health. Dr. Singh further opined that Tarlea was capable of participating in all rigorous activity without any limitations, including calisthenics and running, and that, had he been asked, he would also have cleared Tarlea to engage in track and cross-country. Dr. Singh provided Tarlea with the required medical clearance, and Tarlea, in turn, provided the medical clearance to his coaches. One of Tarlea's teammates made the coaches aware of a potential health problem, and the coaches did not allow that student to participate until the student obtained medical clearance.

In addition to the medical clearance forms, each player was required to sign an acknowledgment form that outlined the risks, which included injury and death, associated with participation in high school athletics. Each player was also required to have his parents sign the acknowledgment form, as well as a consent form, before being allowed to participate in the camp. Tarlea and his parents signed these documents.6

Tarlea's family and friends were of the opinion that he was in the best shape of his life. Before attending Camp Sequoia, Tarlea participated in weight lifting and track conditioning workouts (fourteen sessions), and was able to bench press 350 pounds in a charity "Lift-A-Thon."

At Camp Sequoia, the student athletes were provided with a healthy diet and plenty of water at all times. The camp, its purpose and procedures, and the importance of proper hydration were explained to the students and parents. The coaches made sure there was water available throughout the camp while the students were exercising. One of Tarlea's teammates stated that Tarlea himself brought twenty-four bottles of water with him to the camp, drank all of them before the August 9, 2000, exercise session, and that Tarlea drank at least two bottles of Gatorade the night before the run. During practices, the coaches encouraged the students to take water breaks and to drink plenty of water. The coaches never discouraged students from resting or taking water breaks. As a further safety measure, the coaches stationed themselves around the running track so they could observe the students.

On August 9, 2000, the team awoke at 6:45 a.m. to prepare for morning practice. At 7:00 a.m., the team completed a two-hundred-yard run. Meteorological records show that the temperature was seventy-one degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of ninety-three percent. Team members then completed stretching exercises before running a series of ten sixty-yard runs, with the first four being at "half speed," the next four at "three-quarters speed," and the final two at "full speed." The team's next exercise consisted of four sets of "up downs,"7 with two-minute breaks between each set. Jeremy stepped out of the "up down" exercise for a few minutes to take a break and then resumed the exercises.

After the "up downs," the team went on a 1-1/2-mile run at each member's own pace — the run was not timed. The students, including Tarlea, could have declined to engage in the 1-1/2-mile run without penalty; indeed, some students did decline to run. When these students asked to sit out the run, the coaches advised them to sit in the shade and drink some fluids. Those who participated in the run could stop at any time to rest, take a drink of water, or sit under the shade of a tree. The students ran without wearing any pads or helmets; the students wore shorts and T-shirts, and some students, including Tarlea, removed their shirts during the run.

One of Tarlea's teammates testified that Tarlea looked as though he was in great shape. The teammate further testified that Tarlea took a water break before the run and looked tired, but that everyone looked tired during the run. The teammate and coaches stated that they did not observe anything out of the ordinary with respect to Tarlea. When Tarlea crossed the finish line at the end of his run, his legs buckled, and some of his teammates helped him get water. The coaches ran to Tarlea and found him conscious but unresponsive. They then decided to immediately take Tarlea to nearby Herrick Hospital. The coaches drove Tarlea to the hospital in an air-conditioned vehicle.

Tarlea was admitted to Herrick Hospital with a body temperature of ninety-seven degrees. His white blood cell count and several enzyme levels were at abnormally high levels. His body temperature rose to 101.7 degrees. The Herrick Hospital Emergency Department then cooled Tarlea with ice and wet towels and transferred him by air to the University of Michigan Hospital Emergency Department. Upon arrival at the University, Tarlea's temperature had risen to 108 degrees. University...

To continue reading

Request your trial
86 cases
  • Miller v. Gettel
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan
    • December 16, 2021
    ...exceptions, statutorily entitled to immunity from tort claims. MICH. COMP. LAWS § 691.1401 et seq ; see also Tarlea v. Crabtree , 263 Mich. App. 80, 82, 687 N.W.2d 333 (2004). For the following reasons the Court holds the MSP Defendants are not entitled to governmental immunity in these cir......
  • Zdrowski v. Rieck
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan
    • August 11, 2015
    ...conclude, reasonably, that the actor simply did not care about the safety or welfare of those in his charge." Tarlea v. Crabtree, 263 Mich.App. 80, 687 N.W.2d 333, 339–40 (2004). When a Defendant asserts the defense of immunity, "where, on the basis of the evidence presented, reasonable jur......
  • C.R. v. Novi Cmty. Sch. Dist., Case No. 14-14531
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan
    • February 9, 2017
    ...disregard for substantial risks." Oliver v. Smith, 290 Mich. App. 678, 685, 810 N.W.2d 57, 62 (2010) (citing Tarlea v. Crabtree, 263 Mich.App. 80, 90, 687 N.W.2d 333 (2004)). 30. Notably, one of the teachers was, like Defendant Solomon, a substitute teacher. Id. at 10. Likewise, in Parent v......
  • Jones v. PRAMSTALLER
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan
    • December 22, 2009
    ...conclude, reasonably, that the actor simply did not care about the safety or welfare of those in his charge," no citation provided citing Tarlea no citation provided, supra at 90. Thompson 2006 WL 3040137 at *11. (Emphasis Defendants in the case at bar, sic request judgment on the pleadings......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT