Opinion ID: 1034507
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶1 This case is making its second appearance before this court. Plaintiffs are the parents of a young boy, Sam Ives,1 who was killed 1 We typically use a minor’s initials in our opinions. Due to the publicity surrounding this case, however, the plaintiffs used Sam’s full name in their pleadings and received the district court’s permission to use Sam’s name in open court. We see no reason to (continued...) FRANCIS v. STATE Opinion of the Court by a bear while camping with his family, the Mulveys,2 in American Fork Canyon. They sued the State of Utah, alleging that the State negligently failed to warn the Mulveys of the dangerous condition created by the bear. The district court initially dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims under the permit exception to the Utah Governmental Immunity Act (Immunity Act) and the plaintiffs appealed.3 We reversed and held that the permit exception was inapplicable to the facts of this case. ¶2 On remand, the State raised two alternative arguments. First, the State argued that it owed no duty to the Mulveys. Second, the State argued that even if it did owe a duty, the natural condition exception to the Immunity Act precluded liability. After the district court dismissed the case a second time, the plaintiffs appealed and now raise three arguments. First, they assert that, under the law of the case doctrine, our refusal to entertain the State’s alternative arguments in Francis I prevented the State from arguing those theories on remand. Second, they argue that the State did owe the Mulveys a duty of care. Finally, they contend that the natural condition exception to the Immunity Act does not apply. ¶3 The State counters that it was not barred from presenting its alternative arguments on remand. It reasons that we refused to consider those arguments in Francis I only because they had not been raised below and that our opinion actually contemplated that the State would be able to present its alternative arguments to the district court on remand. Second, the State argues that it owed no duty to the Mulveys because no special relationship existed. Finally, the State argues that because a bear is a natural condition, the State is immunized from liability under the natural condition exception to the Immunity Act. 1 (...continued) change course. 2 The plaintiffs are Kevan Francis and Rebecca Ives, Sam Ives’s biological parents. Mr. Francis was not part of the camping party when Sam was killed. Rather, Sam was camping with his mother, her husband, Tim Mulvey, and their other children. We therefore refer to the individuals with whom Sam was camping as the “Mulveys” to distinguish the members of the camping party from the plaintiffs. 3 Francis v. State (Francis I), 2010 UT 62, 248 P.3d 44. 2 Cite as: 2013 UT 43 Opinion of the Court ¶4 We reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the State. First, we hold that the State was entitled to present its alternative arguments on remand. Therefore, the issues of whether the State owed the Mulveys a duty and whether the natural condition exception applies are properly before this court. We further hold that (1) the State owed the Mulveys a duty because it undertook specific action to protect them as the next group to use the campsite, and (2) the natural condition exception does not immunize the State from liability because a bear is not a “natural condition on publicly owned or controlled lands.”4