McGarry

Following an exhilarating performance by professional skateboarders, one of the performers flung a skateboard deck (a skateboard without wheels and hardware) into a horde of eager spectators, all vying for the prize. The spectators, plaintiff Daniel Lawrence McGarry among them, toppled to the ground with the skateboard in their midst. During the melee, McGarry suffered injuries that eventually led to the removal of his clavicle bone joint.

McGarry filed a complaint for personal injury against Scott W. and Diane Sax, owners of Wave Skate and Surfwear (The Wave), a skateboard store on the premises where the performance took place. McGarry later identified Turn Yeto, Inc. (Turn Yeto), a skateboard manufacturer, as Doe X in the original complaint. McGarry subsequently filed an amended complaint, again alleging personal injuries against The Wave, but did not name Turn Yeto as a defendant.

McGarry appeals from an adverse summary judgment, contending the court erred in dismissing Turn Yeto, a triable issue of fact exists as to The Wave’s duty to McGarry, the skateboarder who threw the skateboard acted as an agent of The Wave, the court’s finding of independent contractor…