Harper v. Herman

Facts

On Sunday, August 9, 1986, Harper, who was 20, was one of four guests on Herman's 26-foot boat on Lake Minnetonka. Another guest, Cindy Alberg Palmer, had invited Harper, and Herman and Harper had never met. Herman was 64 and an experienced boat owner. He considered himself in charge of the boat and his passengers. Harper had some experience swimming in lakes and rivers but no formal diving training. After a few hours, the group decided to swim and, at Herman's suggestion, went to Big Island. Herman knew the water stays shallow a good distance from the island's shore. Harper had been there once before. Herman stopped the boat 100 to 200 yards from the island, in water shallow enough for guests to use the boat ladder but deep enough to swim. Herman disputed that distance but accepted it for purposes of the appeal. The lake bottom was not visible from the boat. While Herman set the anchor and lowered the ladder, Harper asked if he was "going in." Herman said yes. Harper, without warning, stepped onto the side of the boat and dove into approximately two or three feet of water. He struck the bottom, severed his spinal cord and was left a C6 quadriplegic.

Issues

1. Does a boat owner who is a social host owe a guest on the boat a duty of care to warn that the water is too shallow for diving?
2. Does the host's knowledge that the water is dangerously shallow, by itself, create a duty to warn the guest?

Holding

A boat owner who is a social host had no duty to warn a 20-year-old guest that the water was too shallow for diving. No special relationship existed on this record, and the host's knowledge of the danger did not create a duty.