Solis

FACTS

In June 2020, Solis, Spencer Lauderdale, and several others went on a weekend camping trip at Pine Flat Lake, where they used Lauderdale’s 22-foot ski boat to go tubing. Tubing is a recreational boating activity where a rider is towed behind a boat on an inflated inner tube. A person on the boat typically acts as the “spotter,” a role that involves watching the rider, communicating with the boat driver, and raising a flag to alert nearby boaters if the rider is in the water. At one point during the weekend, Lauderdale was driving the boat and pulling his girlfriend on the tube. Solis volunteered to act as the spotter and sat at the back of the boat. As Lauderdale drove the boat into a cove, the rider gave a thumbs up signal to indicate he should speed up. He obliged, increased the speed to about 20 to 25 mph, and turned back briefly to watch the rider. When he looked forward a few seconds later, he saw the boat was about to hit a sandbar covered in vegetation. He was unable to avoid a collision, and the boat ran aground. Solis flew forward in the impact and suffered severe injuries. Solis filed a complaint against Lauderdale for negligence. Lauderdale asserted assumption of…