Emerdinger v. Teng
Appellant Seth Emerdinger (Emerdinger) was injured in August 2001 while he was tubingbeing towed by a motorboat while holding onto an inner tubein the Sacramento Delta. He alleged that his leg became entangled in the tow rope as a result of the boat driver turning too sharply. Emerdinger sued the owner of the boat, Howard Teng, and his son Michael Teng (a passenger), claiming that they were both negligent. Teng moved for summary judgment, arguing, inter alia, that they owed no duty to Emerdinger. They claimed that the law limited liability of a coparticipant for injuries sustained in a vigorous sport such as tubing to intentional and reckless misconduct; as a matter of law, therefore, Teng owed no duty to Emerdinger under the doctrine of primary assumption of the risk. The trial court agreed and granted Tengs motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Emerdinger argues that the doctrine is inapplicable under the circumstances here because neither Howard nor Michael actually operated the boat at the time of the incident and were therefore not participants in the tubing endeavor. Court conclude that the primary assumption of the risk doctrine does apply here and that the negligence action was therefore not maintainable against Teng. Accordingly, Court affirm the judgment entered on the order granting summary judgment.
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