Court Opinion

ID: 9745774
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 13:31:13.366411+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:04.521930
License: Public Domain

*989FRIEDLANDER, Judge,
dissents.
I respectfully dissent to the majority's determination that "the YMCA had a relationship to Thornhill with respect to the trail ride that supports the imposition of a duty." Maj. at 987.
The nature of the relationship between the parties at the time of the incident is the principal focus of whether YMCA owed a duty to Thornhill. As our supreme court determined in Greathouse v. Armstrong (1993), Ind.App., 616 N.E.2d 364, 368, "the duty to exercise care for the safety of another arises as a matter of law out of some relationship existing between the parties...." The cireumstances presented here demonstrate there was no special relationship, either at common law or by contract between the YMCA and Thornhill which would impose a legal duty upon the YMCA for the benefit of Thornhill.
The evidence shows that the YMCA did not retain or exercise control regarding the means and methods Deka-Di used in regards to the Wellness Weekend horseback riding activity. In Daugherty v. Fuller Engineering (1993), Ind.App., 615 N.E.2d 476, this court observed that the factors relevant to the issue of control include: 1. right to discharge; 2. mode of payment; 3. supplying tools or equipment; 4. a belief by the parties that a master-servant relationship exists; 5. control over the means used or the result reached; 6. the length of employment; and 7. establishing work boundaries.
The record before us shows that the YMCA lacked any authority to discharge Deka-Di or its employees. While the YMCA collected Deka-Di's fee from the campers, it paid those amounts directly to the stables without charging fees and it did not withhold taxes. Affidavits submitted to the trial court demonstrated that the YMCA did not exercise or have any involvement in the operation and activities of Deka-Di. It did not own, furnish, or have any control over the horses, stables, facilities, riding trails, or equipment used by Deka-Di.
Thornhill offers no evidence indicating that the YMCA had a right to control the manner in which Deka-Di conducted the trail ride. It is my belief that there is nothing to support a finding that the YMCA's duty of reasonable care that it may have owed Thornhill included a duty insuring her safety at the off-camp activity. I would affirm the trial court's entry of summary judgment in favor of the YMCA.