Hodson v. Taylor
Annotate this CaseCole Hodson was invited by Whitney Taylor to the residence of her parents, Bradley and Laura Taylor, for the purpose of swimming and boating in the Willers Cove lake. While diving into the water, Hodson abruptly came into contact with something in the water. As a result, Hodson was paralyzed and without feeling from the chest down. Hodson filed this action alleging (1) the Taylors were negligent in failing to warn users of Willers Cove of the dangerous condition of the lake and in allowing Whitney use the boat without supervision; (2) the Willers Cove Association (WCOA), which owned and maintained the lake, should have known of dangerous conditions in the lake; and (3) Ronald and Marilyn Willers, who created the lake, negligently constructed a culvert which led to the dangerous condition that caused Hodson’s injury. The district court granted summery judgment in favor of the defendants. The Supreme Court (1) reversed the district court’s determination that the Recreational Liability Act applied to the Taylors; (2) affirmed the district court’s granting of summary judgment to the Willers; and (3) reversed the court’s finding that the open and obvious doctrine applied to bar the WCOA’s liability. Remanded to determine the negligence of the Taylors and the WCOA.
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