Donnalley v. Sterling

274 Ga.App. 683 (2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was the head football coach at Wheeler High School in Cobb County. The Wheeler High School football team traveled to the Athens YMCA Camp in Tallulah Falls, Georgia, for a three-day training camp. On the first day of camp, Daniel, along with several teammates, was riding a “zip line” into the camp's lake. The boys would drop off into the lake from the zip line and swim either to the dock or to the shore. The campers were supervised by Steve Brown, an assistant football coach, who was standing on a dock approximately 30 feet away. Brown had undergone CPR, lifesaving and water rescue instruction and had been certified to teach first aid, but he had never received a certificate in lifesaving or water rescue. Daniel surfaced, swam clear, and began treading water. A few minutes later, he began to struggle in the water. A teammate tried to help him could not. Others joined to pull Daniel from underneath the water. Brown also dove into the water and helped bring Daniel to shore. He was quickly joined in the water by D and a third coach. Daniel was unconscious and was not breathing. He died two days later. Ps' breach of contract claim arises from a one-page rental contract that D signed with the YMCA for the use of the Athens “Y” Camp. D agreed that the football team, and not the YMCA, was responsible for providing “qualified personnel” to supervise the lake during water activities. Ps' assert that Daniel was a third-party beneficiary of the rental contract, and they argue that a jury question exists as to whether D and the District breached the requirement of providing “qualified personnel” by failing to have a certified lifeguard patrol at the lake. The trial court stated that the use of the pronoun “we” when referring to the party renting the camp - made it appear as if D entered into the contract on behalf of the entire Wheeler Football Team. The judge inferred an intent to confer a direct benefit upon the members of the football team, including Daniel. Ds appealed.