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Bellman v. City Of Cedar Falls9/7/2000
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Stephen C. Clarke and George L. Stigler, Judges.
Third-party defendant appeals the judgment entered on a jury verdict finding it partially liable for plaintiff's wrongful death claim.
AFFIRMED.
Considered en banc.
This appeal arises from a tragic accident which, ironically, occurred during a safety program for a class of kindergarten students. One of the students, Derek Bellman, died from injuries inflicted by a golf cart kept on hand for use during the safety presentations. A judgment was entered against the City of Cedar Falls after it admitted liability, and the City sought contribution from the Cedar Falls Community School District. A jury determined the District shared fault for the accident. The District now appeals various rulings related to that finding. Because we determine the district court committed no reversible error, we affirm.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
The facts surrounding the accident are largely undisputed.
In September 1995, the City of Cedar Falls held its annual safety program for the kindergarten students of several elementary schools. This long-running program, called "Safety City," was jointly conducted by the police and fire divisions of the City's Department of Public Safety, Sartori Memorial Hospital, and Cedar Falls Utilities. The police division was in overall charge of administering the program.
Safety City was held at the City's Recreation Center during the course of a week. Each morning and afternoon two kindergarten classes would visit the site. One class would attend presentations put on by the fire and utilities personnel inside the building, while the other class would view presentations by the police division and hospital in the parking lot outside. The classes would then trade places.
The police division's portion of the program included traffic safety and "stranger danger" demonstrations conducted by three police officers, Sergeant Todd Wilson, and Officers Laurel Magee and Tim Eich. Using a motorized golf cart and a miniature intersection, Sergeant Wilson would simulate a motorist while Officer Eich played the part of a careless pedestrian. Sergeant Wilson would also act out the role of a stranger attempting to entice the children to the cart with an offer of candy. Officer Magee, in uniform, narrated the scenes and instructed the students on the safety lessons they were meant to convey. After these and other demonstrations, the students were allowed to examine a patrol vehicle parked nearby.
On the morning of September 15, 1995, the final day of the program, Safety City was visited by two kindergarten classes from North Cedar Elementary School in the Cedar Falls Community School District. The classes were led by their teachers, Judy Hagen and Katie Duax. Each class was also accompanied by two parents. Upon arriving at Safety City, Ms. Hagen's class went inside the community center while Ms. Duax's class of eighteen pupils, Derek among them, remained in the parking lot.
The police division's program concluded without incident. It was followed by the hospital's presentation, conducted by two paramedics at the rear of an ambulance. Sergeant Wilson parked the golf cart nearby and watched from the seat. When the class was invited to tour the ambulance, he joined the other adults who were assisting the children entering and exiting the emergency vehicle. The golf cart was left unattended with the key in the ignition.
At some point one of the parents observed, without alarm, that several of the children had gone over to the cart and gotten on. Shor
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