SCRANTON – A federal judge has approved a motion for summary judgment and dismissed two defendants from a personal injury matter in which a patron of the Camelback Lodge and Indoor Waterpark sustained damages.
On Feb. 25, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Judge Robert D. Mariani ruled that defendants CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC be dismissed from a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs Jack Daloya and Keren Esayev.
Daloya and Esayev filed a complaint on March 12, 2019, alleging that Daloya suffered personal injuries at the defendants’ Camelback Lodge and Indoor Waterpark, while participating for the first time on a FlowRider attraction at the park.
“As discovery has drawn to a close in this case, the defendants have filed a motion for partial summary judgment in this case. This motion seeks the dismissal of all defendants, with the exception of CBK Lodge, LP. The premise underlying this motion for partial summary judgment can be simply stated,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson said.
“According to the defendants: It is undisputed that defendant CBK Lodge, LP was the owner operator of the location of plaintiff’s incident, which is the subject of this matter. There is no evidence supporting plaintiff’s claims against defendants CBH20, LP and/or CBH20 General Partner, LLC. Therefore, the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims against CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC is appropriate, because those defendants have no ownership, management responsibility, control or maintenance obligations whatsoever, as it relates to the property at which the plaintiff claims his incident occurred.”
On Jan. 6, the defendants moved for partial summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides, “The Court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
“The plaintiffs have responded to this motion by conceding that dismissal of these defendants is appropriate, while disputing that a motion for partial summary judgment was required to achieve this goal. According to the plaintiffs: Counsel for movant has represented that defendant CBK Lodge, LP is the lone entity responsible for the operation, maintenance, and supervision of the above-referenced FlowRider Amusement, as well as lone entity responsible for the lifeguards that supervised the FlowRider’s patrons,” Carlson said.
“Thus, given defendants’ representation that CBK Lodge, LP is the sole owner and operator of the location of plaintiffs’ incident, on the date it occurred, plaintiffs previously agreed to stipulate to the dismissal of CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC. Therefore, defendants’ motion for summary judgment should be denied as moot. Given this concession by the plaintiffs, it is recommended that CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC be dismissed as defendants in this case.”
In the case at hand, Carlson explained that the defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment rests on a single, simple premise: It is undisputed that defendant CBK Lodge, LP was the owner-operator of the location of plaintiff’s incident, which is the subject of this matter – and there is no evidence supporting plaintiff’s claims against defendants CBH20, LP and/or CBH20 General Partner, LLC.
“For their part, the plaintiffs insist that a summary judgment motion was unnecessary in this case but acknowledge that ‘given defendants’ representation that CBK Lodge, LP is the sole owner and operator of the location of plaintiffs’ incident, on the date it occurred, plaintiffs previously agreed to stipulate to the dismissal of CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC,” Carlson stated.
“Given this concession by the plaintiffs, there is no dispute as to any material fact and CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC are entitled to judgment in their favor as a matter of law. Therefore, CBH20, LP and CBH20 General Partner, LLC should be dismissed as defendants in this case.”
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 3:19-cv-00439
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com