Cioban-Leontiy v. Silverthorn Resort Associates, LP et al
Filing
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MEMORANDUM AND ORDER signed by Senior Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on 5/29/2020 GRANTING 141 Motion for Summary Judgment, and the Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment in Silverthorn's favor. CASE CLOSED (Reader, L)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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OLGA CIOBAN-LEONTIY,
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Plaintiff,
v.
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Defendants.
SILVERTHORN RESORT
ASSOCIATES, LP, a California Limited
Partnership,
Cross-Claimant,
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MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
SILVERTHORN RESORT
ASSOCIATES, LP, a California Limited
Partnership, WATERWAY
HOUSEBOAT BUILDERS, a foreign
corporation, VOLVO PENTA OF THE
AMERICAS, LLC, a Delaware Limited
Liability Company, and DOES 1-50,
inclusive,
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No. 2:17-cv-01626-MCE-DMC
v.
DMITRY GAIDUCHIK, MAKSIM
LEONTIY, VOLVO PENTA OF THE
AMERICAS, LLC, a Delaware Limited
Liability Company, and WATERWAY
HOUSEBOAT BUIDERS, a foreign
corporation,
Cross-Defendants.
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VOLVO PENTA OF THE AMERICAS,
LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability
Company,
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Cross-Claimant,
v.
DMITRY GAIDUCHIK, MAKSIM
LEONTIY, SILVERTHORN RESORT
ASSOCIATES, LP, a California Limited
Partnership, and WATERWAY
HOUSEBOAT BUIDERS, a foreign
corporation,
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Cross-Defendants.
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Through the present action, Plaintiff Olga Cioban-Leontiy (“Plaintiff”) seeks
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damages for personal injuries she sustained after jumping from a houseboat on Lake
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Shasta, California and coming into contact with the vessel’s propeller. Plaintiff’s
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Complaint was originally filed in Shasta County Superior Court on May 10, 2017, and it
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included causes of action for products liability and negligence. In addition to suing
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Defendant Silverthorn Resort Associates, LP, Inc. (“Silverthorn”), the marina where the
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houseboat had been rented, Plaintiff’s Complaint also originally named Volvo Penta of
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the Americas (“Volvo”), the manufacturer of the houseboat’s motor. On August 3, 2017,
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Volvo removed the case to this Court, citing federal question jurisdiction under both the
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Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971, 46 U.S.C. §§ 4301, et seq., and the Inland Navigation
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Rules, 33 U.S.C. § 2701.
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Following removal to this Court, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”)
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(ECF No. 17) on October 24, 2017 which named Waterway Houseboat Builders, the
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company that actually constructed the vessel, as an additional Defendant. Silverthorn
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and Volvo proceeded to file their own cross-claims for indemnity and contribution, but
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Waterway was never served with the FAC prior to the time Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed
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it as a Defendant on May 14, 2018. ECF No. 34. Plaintiff then proceeded to enter into a
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stipulation with Volvo for dismissal in exchange for a waiver of costs. ECF No. 43.
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Under the terms of that stipulation, Plaintiff represented to the Court and to the
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remaining Defendant, Silverthorn, that it was “no longer pursuing product liability claims
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against Volvo Penta and Waterway Houseboat Builders, but rather, is pursuing
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Silverthorn under theories that do not involve Volvo Penta or Waterway Houseboat
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Builders.” ECF No. 43, p. 2:3-5.
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Under the currently operative Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”), filed February 15,
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2019 (ECF No. 135), Plaintiff’s claims are directed against Silverthorn, only, and include
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claims for strict liability, products liability and negligence all focusing upon Silverthorn’s
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alleged failure to provide appropriate safety information to the occupants of the
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houseboat after it was rented and before the boat was taken out on Lake Shasta.
Presently before the Court is Silverthorn’s Motion for Summary Judgment, or
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alternatively for partial summary adjudication, made on grounds that under the
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circumstances of this matter Plaintiff cannot possibly pursue any claim premised upon
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failure to warn against Silverthorn. According to Silverthorn, because the undisputed
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facts show that Plaintiff was already well aware of the dangers involved in jumping from
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the houseboat while the motor was running, any additional warnings it could have
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provided were irrelevant and would not have prevented the injuries sustained by Plaintiff
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when she came into contact with the boat’s propeller. As set forth below, Silverthorn’s
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Motion is GRANTED.1
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BACKGROUND
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On May 30, 2015, while a passenger on a houseboat in Lake Shasta, Plaintiff
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jumped into the water to retrieve a hat that had blown overboard. She thereafter
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sustained injuries to both legs when her body came into contact with the vessel’s
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propeller.
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Having determined that oral argument would not be of material assistance, the Court ordered this
matter submitted on the briefs in accordance with E.D. Local Rule 230(g).
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Silverthorn had rented the houseboat involved to Plaintiff and a group of
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approximately twelve friends and relatives, including Plaintiff’s now-husband, Maxim
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Leontiy. The TAC contains three causes of action directed to Silverthorn, all premised
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on arguments that Silverthorn did not provide adequate warnings of the houseboat’s
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dangerous characteristics before it was rented to Plaintiff and her group. The First
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Cause of Action, entitled “Strict Liability-Failure to Warn,” alleges that Silverthorn had a
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“duty to warn of the risks associated with reasonable foreseeable uses and misuses” of
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the vessel but failed to do so.2 TAC, ¶ 27. Similarly, Plaintiff’s Second and Third
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Causes of Action, as directed to Silverthorn, are premised on its alleged negligence in
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failing “to provide adequate warnings and/or instructions concerning the defects and use
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of the vessel” and by not “properly instruct[ing] the occupants of the houseboat on how
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to safely and competently enter the water from the houseboat.” Id. at ¶¶ 40, 52.3
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Silverthorn’s Motion for Summary Judgment presently before the Court is
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predicated on the assertion that any failure to warn of the vessel’s danger, and to
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thereby hold Silverthorn liable for Plaintiff’s injuries, is mooted by Plaintiff’s own explicit
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admissions in deposition that she was well aware of the dangers involved. Silverthorn
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maintains that given those admissions any failure to warn on its part cannot, as a matter
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of law, trigger liability when Plaintiff already knew she could be injured when jumping into
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the water from a boat with its motor running.
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First, Plaintiff conceded that she had boating experience before the accident,
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having gone out with friends in Lake Folsom “often in summertime,” perhaps “every other
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weekend.” See Pl.’s Dep., Ex. A to Decl. of David J. Billings, 14:14-19. Plaintiff further
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admitted that she knew not to “jump from the boat” when the engine was on “because
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While the First Cause of Action also contains language suggesting that the vessel was defective
in some respects, a review of the record indicates that Plaintiff is not pursuing claims for product liability
against Silverthorn. See Def.’s Statement of Undisputed Fact (“SUF”) No. 1 and evidentiary citations
thereto.
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Again, while the negligence-based causes of action also contain language, perhaps directed at
unnamed fictitious defendants, identifying potential “defects” in the vessel that could suggest a product
liability claim, it is undisputed that no such claim is currently being asserted against Silverthorn. SUF
No. 1.
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there’s [a] propeller, and when boat is on, you cannot jump in because boat is moving
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and it’s dangerous.” When asked if that danger was due to the potential of being hurt
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by the propeller, she responded “of course.” Id. at 15:25-16:15. Plaintiff even conceded
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being aware of how serious propeller injuries could be prior to her own accident by
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admitting that a “friend’s friend” had died when a boat propeller caught her legs after
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falling off a boat in the State of Washington. Id. at 30:10-19.
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In addition, Silverthorn goes on to allege that Plaintiff cannot evade responsibility
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for her actions by claiming that she could not tell whether the houseboat’s engine was
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engaged or not. Plaintiff conceded at deposition that because the generator was on
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while the houseboat was on the lake, and since both the generator and engine were
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loud, she could not tell the difference and did not know whether either the engine, the
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generator, or both were running. Id. at 56:25-57:7.
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Given this knowledge, Silverthorn maintains that failure to provide warnings on its
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part were not a proximate cause of the accident and Plaintiff’s resulting injuries, and it
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requests summary judgment on that basis. According to Silverthorn, the fact that
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Plaintiff focuses on expert testimony in its opposition to argue that Silverthorn’s pre-
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rental warnings were insufficient is simply immaterial given Plaintiff’s own clearly
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expressed knowledge of the dangers involved before she was injured.
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STANDARD
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The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for summary judgment when “the
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movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is
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entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v.
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Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). One of the principal purposes of Rule 56 is to
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dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325.
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Rule 56 also allows a court to grant summary judgment on part of a claim or
defense, known as partial summary judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) (“A party may
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move for summary judgment, identifying each claim or defense—or the part of each
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claim or defense—on which summary judgment is sought.”); see also Allstate Ins. Co. v.
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Madan, 889 F. Supp. 374, 378-79 (C.D. Cal. 1995). The standard that applies to a
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motion for partial summary judgment is the same as that which applies to a motion for
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summary judgment. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); State of Cal. ex rel. Cal. Dep’t of Toxic
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Substances Control v. Campbell, 138 F.3d 772, 780 (9th Cir. 1998) (applying summary
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judgment standard to motion for summary adjudication).
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In a summary judgment motion, the moving party always bears the initial
responsibility of informing the court of the basis for the motion and identifying the
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portions in the record “which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of
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material fact.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. If the moving party meets its initial
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responsibility, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish that a genuine
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issue as to any material fact actually does exist. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith
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Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87 (1986); First Nat’l Bank v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S.
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253, 288-89 (1968).
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In attempting to establish the existence or non-existence of a genuine factual
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dispute, the party must support its assertion by “citing to particular parts of materials in
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the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information,
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affidavits[,] or declarations . . . or other materials; or showing that the materials cited do
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not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party
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cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). The
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opposing party must demonstrate that the fact in contention is material, i.e., a fact that
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might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,
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Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 251-52 (1986); Owens v. Local No. 169, Assoc. of W. Pulp and
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Paper Workers, 971 F.2d 347, 355 (9th Cir. 1987). The opposing party must also
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demonstrate that the dispute about a material fact “is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is
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such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson,
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477 U.S. at 248. In other words, the judge needs to answer the preliminary question
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before the evidence is left to the jury of “not whether there is literally no evidence, but
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whether there is any upon which a jury could properly proceed to find a verdict for the
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party producing it, upon whom the onus of proof is imposed.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251
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(quoting Improvement Co. v. Munson, 81 U.S. 442, 448 (1871)) (emphasis in original).
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As the Supreme Court explained, “[w]hen the moving party has carried its burden under
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Rule [56(a)], its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some
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metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586. Therefore,
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“[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the
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nonmoving party, there is no ‘genuine issue for trial.’” Id. at 587.
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In resolving a summary judgment motion, the evidence of the opposing party is to
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be believed, and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the facts placed
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before the court must be drawn in favor of the opposing party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at
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255. Nevertheless, inferences are not drawn out of the air, and it is the opposing party’s
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obligation to produce a factual predicate from which the inference may be drawn.
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Richards v. Nielsen Freight Lines, 602 F. Supp. 1224, 1244-45 (E.D. Cal. 1985), aff’d,
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810 F.2d 898 (9th Cir. 1987).
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ANALYSIS
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Silverthorn cannot be liable under a failure to warn theory unless that failure was
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a “substantial factor” in bringing about Plaintiff’s injury. See Rutherford v. Owens-Illinois,
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Inc., 16 Cal. 4th 953, 969 (1997). An omission is not a substantial factor with respect to
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causation if it plays only a “theoretical” part in bringing about injury, damage or loss.”
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Bockrather v. Alderich Chemical Co., 21 Cal. 4th 71, 79 (1999). Here, Silverthorn
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argues that any failure on its part to warn of a danger that Plaintiff admits she already
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knew about is immaterial, and at best only a hypothetical factor that cannot give rise to
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liability on its part. Given Plaintiff’s prior boating experience, her admitted awareness of
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the danger of jumping from a boat with the engine engaged, and her concession that she
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could not tell if the engine was on or not at the time of injury, Plaintiff cannot realistically
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argue that Silverthorn’s failure to warn of dangers she already knew and recognized was
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the cause of her injury as opposed to her own conduct in deciding to jump from the boat.
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That guts the thrust of Plaintiff’s opposition, which relies upon warnings her retained
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expert, Alison Osinski, claims Silverthorn should have provided with respect to safety
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practices to be followed in using and operating the houseboat.
In addition, Plaintiff’s admission that she had boated on many occasions before
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the accident (“every other weekend” during the summers on another large body of water,
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Folsom Lake) raises the so called “sophisticated user” defense, which has been
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recognized as an exception to any duty to warn. Johnson v. American Standard, Inc.,
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43 Cal. 4th 56, 65 (2008). As the California Supreme Court pointed out in Webb v.
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Special Elec. Co., Inc., 63 Cal. 4th 167 (2016), “[b]ecause sophisticated users already
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know, or should know” about the dangers implicit in using a particular product, any
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“failure to warn is not the legal cause of [their] harm.” Id. at 182. Such knowledge,
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according to Webb, is deemed to be “the equivalent of prior notice,” with the court
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reasoning that invoking the defense “serves public policy, because requiring warnings of
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obvious or generally known product dangers [may] invite consumer disregard and
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contempt for warnings in general” and therefore denigrate their efficacy. Id.
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Given these factors, and because it would have been futile for Silverthorn to have
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warned Plaintiff of risks about which she was already aware, the Court concludes that
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any failure to warn on Silverthorn’s part was not a substantial factor in causing her
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injuries. Any liability on Silverthorn’s behalf is thereby obviated and it is consequently
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entitled to summary judgment.
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CONCLUSION
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Based on all the foregoing, the Court concludes that Defendant Silverthorn is
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entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Consequently, its Motion for Summary
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Judgment (ECF No. 141) is GRANTED and the Clerk of Court is directed to enter
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judgment in Silverthorn’s favor.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 29, 2020
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