Solis v. Lauderdale CA4/3

Filed 12/17/25 Solis v. Lauderdale CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

MARY SOLIS,

Plaintiff and Appellant, G063653

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2021- 01200174) SPENCER LAUDERDALE, OPINION Defendant and Respondent.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Donald F. Gaffney, Judge. Affirmed. Mandell Trial Lawyers, Robert J. Mandell and Mara Burnett, Esner, Chang, Boyer & Murphy, Shea S. Murphy and Kevin K. Nguyen, for Plaintiff and Appellant. Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Bahar, Juan C. Delgado and David J. Mendoza, for Defendant and Respondent.

Mary Solis appeals from a defense judgment on her negligence claim for injuries sustained in a tubing accident that occurred while she was acting as the “spotter.” She contends the trial court erred in applying the primary assumption of the risk doctrine. Finding no error, we affirm. 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 the risk as an affirmative defense. Before trial, Solis moved in limine to preclude Lauderdale from arguing that defense. The trial court denied the motion and found the primary assumption of the risk doctrine applied. It therefore instructed the