Reed v. University Of North Dakota And The North Dakota Association For The Disabled, Inc.

589 N.W.2d 880 (1999)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P signed a national letter of intent and played hockey at D for two years. On September 15, 1991, as part of D's preseason hockey conditioning program, P ran in a ten-kilometer charity road race sponsored by NDAD (D1) in Grand Forks. P became severely dehydrated and suffered extensive damage to his kidneys and liver. P required extensive medical care, including one kidney and two liver transplants, and he incurred substantial expenses for medical treatment. P sued Ds in Minnesota state court, alleging negligence against all Ds and breach of contract against D. The Minnesota trial court dismissed P's claim against D1 for lack of personal jurisdiction but allowed him to complete discovery on several issues regarding the other five defendants. Sovereign immunity was abolished in North Dakota, and P then sued all six defendants in North Dakota state court, alleging the same claims against them. The North Dakota trial court stayed that action pending resolution of the Minnesota case. The North Dakota trial court eventually dismissed P's tort claims against Ds on the basis of sovereign immunity and granted D's motion for summary judgment on P's breach of contract claim against D. The court allowed Reed to amend his complaint against D1 to allege D1 and D had acted in concert and D1 was jointly liable for damages attributable to D's negligence. The court then granted summary judgment dismissing P's claims against D1. P appealed.