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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantnegligenceappeal
plaintiffdefendantnegligenceappealsummary judgment

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Shin v. Ahn, 42 Cal.4th 482, 165 P.3d 581, 64 Cal.Rptr.3d 803, 07 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 10,428, 2007 Daily Journal D.A.R. 13,411

Facts

The case involves a negligence action brought by a golfer, plaintiff Shin, against another golfer, defendant Ahn, after Ahn's tee shot struck Shin in the head during a round of golf. Both players were part of the same group at the Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles. Shin was aware that he was in front of Ahn's tee box and that Ahn was preparing to tee off. Despite this, he stopped to check his phone and retrieve a bottle of water, leading to the incident. Ahn's shot inadvertently veered left, hitting Shin at a distance of 25 to 35 feet.

Plaintiff and defendant were playing golf with Jeffrey Frost at the Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles. Defendant, the first of the threesome to complete the 12th hole, went to the 13th tee box. Plaintiff and Frost then finished putting and followed him. Frost took the cart path to the 13th tee box, which placed him perpendicular to, or slightly behind, defendant and to his right. Plaintiff took a shortcut, which placed him in front of defendant and to his left.

Issue

Did the primary assumption of risk doctrine apply to the golfer's negligence claim, and was there a triable issue regarding whether the defendant acted recklessly?

Did the primary assumption of risk doctrine apply to the golfer's negligence claim, and was there a triable issue regarding whether the defendant acted recklessly?

Rule

The primary assumption of risk doctrine applies in sports contexts, indicating that a participant assumes inherent risks associated with the sport. A defendant in a sport owes no duty to protect a plaintiff from ordinary negligence but may be liable if they engage in conduct that is recklessly outside the ordinary activity of the sport. The court must evaluate the nature of the sport and the relationship of the parties to determine the duty owed.

Under the primary assumption of risk doctrine, the defendant owes no duty to protect a plaintiff from particular harms arising from ordinary, or simple negligence.

Analysis

In applying the primary assumption of risk doctrine, the court found that Shin, by participating in golf, assumed the risks inherent in the sport, including the risk of being struck by a golf ball. However, the court also noted that there were unresolved factual issues regarding Ahn's conduct at the time of the incident. Specifically, whether Ahn acted recklessly by failing to ensure that Shin was out of range before teeing off was a matter for the trier of fact to determine.

Fact issue remained, precluding summary judgment for golfer in his action against other golfer whose tee shot hit plaintiff in head, whether defendant acted recklessly; evidence did not conclusively establish when plaintiff and defendant made eye contact before defendant hit his shot and how far plaintiff was away from defendant.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal's judgment, concluding that the primary assumption of risk doctrine applies to golf and that there were triable issues regarding Ahn's recklessness, thus remanding the case for further proceedings.

Judgment of the Court of Appeal affirmed and the case remanded.

Who won?

The prevailing party in this case is the defendant, Ahn, as the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal's decision that the primary assumption of risk doctrine applies to golf. The court found that while Shin had assumed certain risks by participating in the sport, the question of whether Ahn acted recklessly remained unresolved, allowing for the possibility of further examination of the facts surrounding the incident.

The Supreme Court, Corrigan, J., held that: primary assumption of risk doctrine applied to golf, and fact issue whether defendant acted recklessly precluded summary judgment.

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