Title: Brown v. Dempster
Citation: 2024 OK 17
Docket Number: 
State: Oklahoma
Issuer: Oklahoma Supreme Court
Date: March 12, 2024

Brown v. Dempster Annotate this Case Justia Opinion Summary In this case, the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma addressed a claim brought by a mother seeking recovery for the loss of her minor child who had drowned in a neighbor's swimming pool. The mother alleged negligence against the property owner, claiming that the swimming pool was an "attractive nuisance." Initially, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the property owner, arguing that the owner did not owe a duty to the child. The mother appealed the decision, leading the Court of Civil Appeals to reverse the district court's judgment, positing that whether the swimming pool was an attractive nuisance was a fact for the jury to decide. Upon review, the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma held that the swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance as a matter of law. The court observed that the pool did not contain any hidden or unusual element of danger. However, the court also determined that a question of fact remained regarding whether the owner could be held liable under ordinary premises liability law. This conclusion barred summary judgment in favor of the property owner. Thus, while the Court affirmed the district court's judgment concerning the attractive nuisance claim, it reversed the decision on the issue of ordinary premises liability. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court's opinion. It was noted that these circumstances would allow a jury to evaluate all surrounding facts in determining liability under ordinary premises liability law. Read more Want to stay in the know about new opinions from the Oklahoma Supreme Court? Sign up for free summaries delivered directly to your inbox. Learn More › You already receive new opinion summaries from Oklahoma Supreme Court. Did you know we offer summary newsletters for even more practice areas and jurisdictions? Explore them here . BROWN v. DEMPSTER 2024 OK 17 Case Number: 119,569 Decided: 03/12/2024 THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. STEPHANIE BROWN, surviving next of kin of JAXON DEAN COBLENTZ, deceased, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. JEREMY P. DEMPSTER, Defendant/Appellee. ON CERTIORARI FROM THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS, DIVISION I ¶0 A mother seeks recovery from the loss of her minor child, who drowned when he fell into a neighbor's swimming pool. She alleged negligence against the owner of the swimming pool. The district court granted the property owner's motion for summary judgment, holding the owner did not owe a duty to the child. The mother appealed. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed the district court's judgment, concluding that it was a question of fact for the jury to decide as to whether the swimming pool was an attractive nuisance. This Court granted certiorari. We hold the swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance as a matter of law. However, a question of fact exists as to whether the owner is liable under ordinary premises liability law, precluding summary judgment in favor of the property owner. COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OPINION VACATED; DISTRICT'S COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED FOR PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. T. Luke Abel and Lynn B. Mares, Abel Law Firm, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff/Appellant. Maurice G. Woods, II, Seth A. Caywood, and Don W. Danz, McAtee & Woods, P.C., Oklahoma, City, Oklahoma, for Defendant/Appellee. Winchester, J. ¶1 Appellant Stephanie Brown (Brown), surviving next of kin of Jaxon Dean Coblentz, deceased, appeals a summary judgment in favor of Appellee Jeremy Dempster (Dempster). Five-year-old Jaxon Dean Coblentz (Jaxon) drowned after he fell into Dempster's swimming pool. The issue before this Court is whether the residential swimming pool was an attractive nuisance. We answer this question in the negative. The swimming pool at issue was not an attractive nuisance as there was no hidden or unusual element of danger in or near Dempster's swimming pool. However, a genuine issue of material fact exists to preclude summary judgment as to whether Dempster breached a duty owed to Jaxon under ordinary premises liability law. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 Dempster lived on three acres in Osage County, Oklahoma, where he owned a residential swimming pool. Dempster did not have a fence around the perimeter of the swimming pool or his property. However, Dempster's house was outside the limits of any municipality, and there was no ordinance or statute requiring a fence around the swimming pool on his property. ¶3 Brown lived with Jaxon, two houses down from Dempster. Jaxon and his family were at a swimming pool party at Dempster's house approximately two to three weeks before Jaxon's death, and Dempster knew that young children lived with Brown. On July 19, 2019, Jaxon walked two houses down the street and entered onto Dempster's property. Jaxon fell into Dempster's swimming pool and drowned. ¶4 On December 20, 2019, Brown filed this lawsuit against Dempster, alleging negligence. On February 11, 2021, Dempster filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Brown could not establish negligence under the theory of negligence per se or the doctrine of attractive nuisance. Brown responded that disputed material facts precluded summary judgment. ¶5 The district court granted Dempster's motion for summary judgment, ruling that Brown could not establish negligence per se as a matter of law because the absence of an enclosure around the swimming pool did not violate any statute, ordinance, rule, or code provision.1 The district court further concluded that the swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance as a matter of law. Brown appealed, and the Court of Civil Appeals reversed the district court's judgment, holding swimming pools are not excluded as a matter of law from the attractive nuisance doctrine. This Court granted certiorari. ¶6 We hold that the residential swimming pool at issue was not an attractive nuisance as a matter of law. However, a question of fact exists as to whether Brown can recover against Dempster under ordinary premises liability. STANDARD OF REVIEW ¶7 Summary judgment resolves issues of law, and we review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. U.S. Bank, N.A. ex rel. Credit Suisse First Boston Heat 2005--4 v. Alexander, 2012 OK 43, ¶ 13, 280 P.3d 936 , 939. Using the de novo standard, we subject the record to a new and independent examination without regard to the district court's reasoning or result. Gladstone v. Bartlesville Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 30, 2003 OK 30, ¶ 5, 66 P.3d 442 , 446. The Court must draw all inferences and conclusions from the underlying facts contained in the record and consider them in the light most favorable to the party opposing the summary judgment. U.S. Bank, 2012 OK 43, ¶ 13, 280 P.3d at 939. If reasonable individuals could reach different factual conclusions under the evidentiary materials, summary judgment is improper. Id. DISCUSSION I. Dempster's swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance. ¶8 Under common law, the duty owed by a property owner to an individual on the property without permission is of a lesser degree than to an individual who has permission to enter the property. However, the attractive nuisance doctrine creates an exception to this common law rule when children of tender years are attracted onto the property and thus brought into contact with a dangerous condition on the premises. Knowles v. Tripledee Drilling Co., Inc., 1989 OK 40, ¶ 3, 771 P.2d 208 , 210. The doctrine operates to impose a higher duty of care on the property owner in this limited set of circumstances. Lohrenz v. Lane, 1990 OK 18, ¶ 10, 787 P.2d 1274 , 1277. The attractive nuisance exception requires a balancing of society's interests in protecting children against the inherent right of a landowner in the enjoyment of his property. Id. ¶9 The application of the attractive nuisance doctrine is generally a question of fact because many different factors must be weighed and considered. Knowles, 1989 OK 40, ¶ 4, 771 P.2d at 210.2 However, under the facts of this case, the district court properly decided that the residential swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance as a matter of law. ¶10 We have found in multiple cases that artificial bodies of water, much like residential swimming pools, are exempt from the attractive nuisance doctrine. See, e.g., Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry. Co. v. Powers, 1952 OK 165, ¶ 14, 234 P.2d 688, 690; Dennis v. Spillers, 1947 OK 208, ¶ 2, 185 P.2d 465 , 465; City of Mangum v. Powell, 1946 OK 2, ¶ 11, 165 P.2d 136 , 137. Our precedent regarding artificial bodies of water is in line with the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 339, which many states have adopted. The Restatement recognizes an exception to the attractive nuisance doctrine for those ordinary dangers, like water. Specifically, the Restatement notes: There are many dangers, such as those of fire and water, or of falling from a height, which under ordinary conditions may reasonably be expected to be fully understood and appreciated by any child of an age to be allowed at large. To such conditions the rule stated in this Section ordinarily has no application, in the absence of some other factor creating a special risk that the child will not avoid the danger, such as the fact that the condition is so hidden as not to be readily visible, or a distracting influence which makes it likely that the child will not discover or appreciate it. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 339 cmt. j (2023). ¶11 Similarly, in finding that the attractive nuisance doctrine did not apply to an artificial lake that caused a 10-year-old's death, our Court explained: A pond of water, it may be conceded, is always attractive to youngsters; but the dangers connected with and inherent in a lake or pond of water, natural or artificial, are obvious to everybody--even to a child old enough to be permitted by its parents to go about and play unattended upon the streets or in the public parks. It would not conform to the dictates of common reason to say that a child of the age of eight years, or even much younger, does not know and fully realize that a fall into a pond of water or a deep reservoir would result in injury to him, if not in his death. But there is no necessity for abstract reasoning upon the proposition, for we think it thoroughly settled by the decisions that a pond of water, whether natural or artificial, is not to be included in the same class with turntables and other complicated machinery, the inherent dangers of which are not obvious to a child. City of Mangum, 1946 OK 2, ¶ 11, 165 P.2d at 137. We then applied this holding to a manmade pond that was rectangular (much like a swimming pool in that it was 60 or 70 feet long, 20 to 25 feet wide, and up to 10 feet deep, with banks almost straight up and down) and concluded that the body of water was not an attractive nuisance. Atchison, 1952 OK 165, ¶¶ 4, 14, 234 P.2d 688, 689, 690. ¶12 Most relevant to our analysis here is Dennis v. Spillers, 1947 OK 208, ¶ 2, 185 P.2d 465 , 465, which involved a seven-year-old who drowned in an ornamental pond. We held that the ornamental pond that was 75 feet in diameter, approximately 10 feet deep, and with steep sides was not an attractive nuisance. Id. The Court discussed how the ornamental pond had rock steps down into the pool and was attractive to children. It was in a populated residential section of the city, not fenced, near another pond that was enclosed with a fence, and near where children played. Id. In reaching its decision, the Court concluded: In the instant case, there was no allegation that there was anything unusual about the pond or its surroundings or that there was any hidden danger constituting a trap. It is a very regret[t]able tragedy, where a child is drowned, yet the defendants cannot be held in damages unless they have violated some duty on their part. Id. ¶ 7, 185 P.2d at 466. ¶13 The same is true of the residential swimming pool at issue here. The pool was constructed like a normal residential pool and equipped with the usual swimming pool accessories. Although attractive to children, it was not a nuisance or unusual. The pool had no condition that masked the inherent danger of a body of water. In the absence of such a condition, the district court properly concluded that Dempster's swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance. ¶14 The district court relied on Lofton v. Green, 1995 OK 109, 905 P.2d 790 , in granting summary judgment to Dempster on the question of attractive nuisance. The Lofton Court upheld a jury verdict on negligence per se without answering the question of whether the swimming pool, wherein a 6-year-old drowned, was an attractive nuisance. The Lofton Court noted that we have never held a private residential swimming pool to be an attractive nuisance, but it did not conclude that we would never allow the instruction on attractive nuisance in a subsequent case involving a swimming pool. Id. ¶ 2, 905 P.2d at 791 Today, we again do not rule out the possibility that there could be a factual situation that would allow the jury to decide whether a swimming pool was an attractive nuisance. ¶15 We follow other jurisdictions that have allowed the attractive nuisance doctrine in cases where the owner constructed the swimming pool to constitute a trap or it had some unusual element of danger not existent in swimming pools generally. See, e.g., Cazort v. Garner, 644 S.W.3d 452, 458 (Ark. Ct. App. 2022); Banks v. Mason, 132 So. 2d 219, 222 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1961); Mozier v. Parsons, 887 P.2d 692, 698 (Kan. 1995); Ausmer v. Sliman, 336 So. 2d 730 , 731 (Miss. 1976). ¶16 For example, the Kansas Supreme Court determined that swimming pools are generally not attractive nuisances as a matter of law, with the court noting that it could not rule out the remote possibility that there could be a highly unusual and aggravated factual situation that might support consideration of the attractive nuisance doctrine. Mozier, 887 P.2d at 698. ¶17 Similarly, an Arkansas appeals court concluded that bodies of water, natural or artificial, do not constitute an attractive nuisance in the absence of any unusual element of danger and a swimming pool should be treated no differently. Cazort, 644 S.W.3d at 458. The Mississippi Supreme Court also held that the attractive nuisance doctrine does not extend to swimming pools except where the pool contains a hazard that is hidden or concealed and is not likely to be found and avoided by a child. Ausmer, 336 So. 2d at 731. ¶18 Finally, a Florida appeals court held that a swimming pool was not an attractive nuisance in the absence of any evidence that the swimming pool was a trap or a latent danger. Banks, 132 So. 2d at 222. The court further explained that a trap or danger does not include steep banks that are found in natural bodies of water or a straight-sided pool. Id. ¶19 We continue to adhere to our precedent in Oklahoma and elsewhere and hold the doctrine of attractive nuisance does not apply to artificial bodies of water, including swimming pools, that have no hidden or unusual element of danger. Because the residential swimming pool in this case had no hidden or unusual element of danger, we conclude that it was not an attractive nuisance. II. A question of fact exists as to whether Dempster is liable under ordinary premises liability law. ¶20 Determination of the attractive nuisance question, however, does not completely resolve the issue of whether summary judgment was proper. Even in the absence of the attractive nuisance doctrine, Dempster still had a duty to Jaxon either as a trespasser, licensee, or invitee. Pickens v. Tulsa Metro. Ministry, 1997 OK 152, ¶ 9, 951 P.2d 1079 , 1083.3 A landowner owes different duties depending on the status of the injured person. Id. at ¶ 10, 951 P.2d at 1083. ¶21 Brown contends that Jaxon was a licensee based upon an implied invitation from Dempster to the minor to use the swimming pool. In the alternative, Brown alleges that even if the minor was a trespasser, Dempster's conduct in failing to secure a barrier around the pool when there were fencing materials present on the property was negligence or wanton disregard for the safety of others. Dempster responds that Jaxon, alone, walked two houses down the street in a rural neighborhood to Dempster's house and entered onto his property as a trespasser. ¶22 Material questions of fact exist as to the events that caused this tragic death (e.g., why the 5-year-old was walking by himself two houses down the street to Dempster's house when Dempster had an unfenced pool) and whether Dempster breached any duty owed to Jaxon. A point articulated by the Kansas Supreme Court in determining liability in a case involving a minor's death in a swimming pool is instructive here: "A higher degree of care for the protection of a trespassing child should not be imposed on a property owner than is expected of a parent or custodian." Mozier, 887 P.2d at 697. We conclude there are facts sufficient to take Brown's case to a jury in the absence of the attractive nuisance doctrine. Instructing on ordinary premises liability will allow the jury to evaluate all the surrounding circumstances in determining liability. CONCLUSION ¶23 Our natural tendency is to want to help ease the suffering of the parents who lose a child; the drowning of a child of tender years is a tragedy. In determining a claim of legal responsibility for such a tragedy, it is difficult to resist the temptation to substitute sentiment for law and reason. We must not determine this case based on sympathy, which we all acknowledge exists. Apache State Bank v. Daniels, 1911 OK 490, ¶ 42, 121 P. 237, 245 (noting that the Court should not permit sympathy to decide rulings). Under the applicable legal principles and facts of this case, the attractive nuisance doctrine does not apply to Dempster's residential swimming pool. However, there are material questions of fact as to whether Brown can recover under ordinary premises liability law. The district court's judgment on the question of attractive nuisance is affirmed. However, we reverse and remand for a jury trial on Brown's claim for ordinary premises liability. COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OPINION VACATED; DISTRICT'S COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED FOR PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION. KAUGER, WINCHESTER, EDMONDSON, COMBS, GURICH (by separate writing), DARBY, and KUEHN, JJ., concur. ROWE, V.C.J. (by separate writing) and HUDSON, S.J., concur in part and dissent in part. KANE, C.J., recused. FOOT