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Broadbent v. Broadbent9/7/1993
CONTRERAS, Presiding Judge
In this appeal, we are presented the question of whether a mother whose child nearly drowns when she negligently fails to supervise him is immune from common law liability for his injuries under the parental immunity doctrine. We hold that the doctrine of parental immunity applies under the circumstances in the present case and therefore affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment.
I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On April 13, 1984, Appellant Christopher Broadbent ("the child") was playing in and around the swimming pool at the Broadbent home while his mother, Appellee Laura Broadbent ("the mother"), watched him. No one else was home. At that time, the child was two and one-half years old and did not know how to swim. While he was in the water, the child wore inflatable vinyl rings on his upper arms to assist him in staying afloat.
The child got out of the pool and removed the flotation rings. The telephone inside the house rang and the mother went inside to answer it. She left the child unattended beside the pool. The mother talked on the telephone five to ten minutes. While standing and talking on the telephone, she could not see the pool area unless she stretched the telephone cord to its limit and stretched her body. In addition, the mother had previously removed her contact lenses and could not see the outside area clearly. After being on the telephone for at least five minutes, the mother stretched the telephone cord to check on the child but could not see him. She dropped the telephone, ran to the pool, and saw the child floating in the deep end of the pool. The child was revived, but suffered severe brain damage.
On February 1, 1990, a tort action in the name of the child was filed against his mother, alleging that her negligence caused his injuries. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company ("State Farm"), which was the Broadbent's insurer under a homeowner's policy, subsequently filed an independent action against Phillip, Laura, and Christopher Broadbent ("the coverage defendants") seeking a declaration that the child's claim was not covered under the homeowner's policy. The trial court consolidated the two cases.
In the declaratory judgment portion of the consolidated action, State Farm moved for summary judgment arguing that the household exclusion in the homeowner's policy precluded coverage of the child's claim. State Farm also argued that under Arizona's parental immunity doctrine, the mother could not be legally liable for her child's injuries.
The coverage defendants responded to State Farm's motion for summary judgment and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment in which they argued that the parental immunity doctrine did not bar the child's claim because, rather than only a parental duty to the child, the mother had a general duty to not allow unsupervised young children access to the family's swimming pool. They also asserted that the doctrine of reasonable expectation precluded application of the household exclusion.
In the tort claim portion of the consolidated action, the mother, in her position as a named defendant, moved for summary judgment on the basis of the parental immunity doctrine conceding that the cause of the child's injury was her negligent supervision. The trial court entered a single judgment granting summary judgment for State Farm on coverage and for the mother on the tort claim. A timely notice of appeal from the judgment was filed. The coverage issue has been abandoned on appeal. Upon stipulation of the parties, this Court permitted Northbrook Indemnity Company, which provided personal umbrella liability insurance coverage on the da
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