Shannon

In this case we consider the application of Knight v. Jewett (1992) 3 Cal.4th 296 [ 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 2 , 834 P.2d 696 ] (Knight), to the recreational activity of boating. A minor child and her siblings brought a negligence claim against the owner and operator of a ski boat for damages arising out of her fall from the ski boat and the subsequent near amputation of her arm by the boat’s propeller. The victim, six-year-old Haley Shannon, and her siblings, Samantha Shannon and John Shields, by and through their mother as guardian ad litem, Connie Shannon, appeal from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the boat’s driver, respondent Phillip Rhodes. Appellants contend the trial court erred in concluding that their claims were barred by the doctrine of primary assumption of risk. In the published portion of this opinion we conclude the doctrine of primary assumption of risk does not apply to bar the negligence claim of a passenger in a boat simply being used to ride around on a lake. In the unpublished portion of this opinion we hold that respondent’s motion for summary judgment failed to shift the burden of proof to appellants on the issue of causation. We…