Quigley

BEDSWORTH, Associate Justice.

This case arises out of the tragic death of a twelve-year-old boy. Gayle Quigley is the mother of Andrew Wantland, who died after unsuccessful attempts to treat with spiritual healing methods of the Christian Science church (Church) what turned out to be a case of juvenile diabetes. Following Andrew's death, Quigley sued the Church and various of its members who participated in his treatment, as well as his grandmother, alleging that each had breached a duty of due care when they failed to refer Andrew to conventional medical practitioners after it became reasonably clear the Christian Science treatment was proving ineffective. After giving Quigley an opportunity to allege additional facts establishing the existence of a duty, the trial court sustained the demurrers of the Church and its members and granted judgment in their favor. The court later granted summary judgment in favor of Andrew's grandmother, also on the basis that she owed no duty under the circumstances. Quigley appealed from both these judgments and her appeals were consolidated. Although we share Quigley's belief that a referral to medical treatment was advisable under the…

This case arises out of the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy. Gayle Quigley is the mother of Andrew Wantland, who died after unsuccessful attempts to treat with spiritual healing methods of the Christian Science church (Church) what turned out to be a case of juvenile diabetes. Following Andrew’s death, Quigley sued the Church and various of its members who participated in his treatment, as well as his grandmother, alleging that each had breached a duty of due care when they failed to refer Andrew to conventional medical practitioners after it became reasonably clear the Christian Science treatment was proving ineffective. After giving Quigley an opportunity to allege additional facts establishing the existence of a duty, the trial court sustained the demurrers of the Church and its members and granted judgment in their favor. The court later granted summary judgment in favor of Andrew’s grandmother, also on the basis that she owed no duty under the circumstances. Quigley appealed from both these judgments and her appeals were consolidated. Although we share Quigley’s belief that a referral to medical treatment was advisable under the circumstances of this case, we…

I concur but write separately because I find Justice Bedsworth’s analysis of Ruth’s summary judgment motion unnecessarily complicated.

The only issue we need address is whether Ruth owed Andrew a duty of care. Our dissenting colleague and Quigley maintain Ruth’s actions of coming to Andrew’s aid and isolating him from other caregivers created this duty. I would agree with this legal conclusion if the record supported the factual premise. It does not.

Andrew’s general condition the week before his death and Ruth’s involvement with him during that time are undisputed. Andrew went to restaurants, helped repair the family driveway, and ran various errands. People who saw him, including his orthodontist, verified he did not appear symptomatic until the day he died.

Ruth was with Andrew on Monday, December 14, for a few hours at his house after he went to school. On Tuesday the 15th, Andrew went to school and Ruth did not see him. He stayed at Ruth’s house on the 16th, and although he did not go to school, his symptoms were minimal. Andrew missed school on the 17th and 18th. He slept at Ruth’s home both nights, but spent just part of the day there. Again nothing in the record…

I concur that the demurrers of the Christian Science church and its representatives were properly sustained. However, I respectfully dissent from my colleagues’ decision to affirm the summary judgment in favor of Ruth Wantland, Andrew’s grandmother. Mrs. Wantland assumed a duty of care towards Andrew when she undertook the role of babysitter and caretaker. Whether she breached this duty, that is whether she acted unreasonably in not seeking adequate medical care for him, is a question of fact which should not be decided by way of summary judgment.

Andrew died on December 20, 1992, a Sunday. Mrs. Wantland was solely responsible for his care for substantial periods during the preceding week. On December 14, she babysat Andrew after school. On December 16, Andrew did not go to school but spent the day at Mrs. Wantland’s house. On December 17 and 18, he again missed school and spent a substantial portion of each day with Mrs. Wantland; he also spent these nights at her house. On December 19, he spent the morning with Mrs. Wantland and apparently returned to his father’s house thereafter. Mrs. Wantland initiated contacts with representatives of the Christian Science church to make…