wo of the four personal injury lawsuits facing the National Spa & Pool Institute have been settled out of court.
The first case involves Lucy Soto, a New Jersey resident who dove into a renovated, inground pool and sustained a spinal cord injury. An agreement with NSPI was reached earlier this year, according to Al Darnell, an attorney for the plaintiff.
“The matter has been resolved,” said Darnell of Wilent, Goldman and Spitzer in Woodbridge, N.J. “I can’t reveal the amount, but it was approved by the bankruptcy court and it’s been paid.”
The suit initially sought $10 million in damages and also named the liner manufacturer as well as the company that sold and installed it, according to bankruptcy papers filed by NSPI.
Soto had charged that renovations made in 1996 changed the shape of the diving well and created a danger. The accident took place in 1999.
The second case to reach resolution, according to Steven Getzoff, an attorney for NSPI, is that of Joshua Pope of Hurst, Texas. “We have a settlement,” Getzoff said. “We are just structuring the terms right now.”
Pope’s attorney, Jason Stephens of Noteboom & Parker, refused to comment on whether the suit had been settled.
The suit centered on Pope, 21, who was injured in 1998 when he dove from a diving board into the Granbury Country Club pool.
“He’s essentially a quadriplegic,” Stephens said. “Medical experts have looked at him and estimated it would take over $8 million to take care of him and his medical needs for the rest of his life.”
Pope’s case focused on the pool’s diving board, which Stephens asserts was a replacement board that was inappropriate for the pool. He also claims the warnings on the board were too complex for a layperson. The board’s manufacturer also is named as a defendant in the suit. “If the warning had been very simple, it wouldn’t have been installed and he wouldn’t have jumped off,” Stephens said.
Stephens also asserts that NSPI is culpable because its diving standards are inadequate. Getzoff disagrees.
“In every one of these cases where someone dove off a board [and was injured], the pool did not meet NSPI standards. In the Pope case, the pool was 2-1/2 to 3 feet shallower than the standard.”
The four lawsuits against NSPI forced the association to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. Here is a look at the remaining two cases:
• J.R Saunders, Kansas City, Mo.
According to Eric Barton, an attorney with Wagstaff & Cartmell, James Saunders was in his early 30s when he dove into an inground residential pool and was “partially paralyzed.”
NSPI bankruptcy papers indicate that the suit has asked for $10 million in damages, although Barton denied this. “We haven’t put a specific amount on it and we are not at liberty to discuss what we have done in that regard,” he said. “We do not demand $10 million and we don’t know where they got that number.”
Jack Cergol, NSPI’s chief staff executive, said the organization had to list “unfunded liabilities” in its Chapter 11 filings and said, “That’s the number we were given when they filed the suit.”
The Saunders case has been stayed because of the bankruptcy procedure, according to Barton. “The case cannot go forward at this point,” he said.
When asked if an out-of-court settlement could be reached during this period Barton said, “Nothing would preclude that from happening,” but refused to comment further.
• Kaitlin Colintano, Harrington, Ontario, Canada
Four years ago, Kaitlin Colintano was invited to swim in her neighbor’s aboveground pool. The pool was equipped with a deck and she was permitted to dive in by the neighbor, according to her attorney, David Smye of Macksey & Smye.
The result, Smye said, was a severely damaged spinal cord, rendering Colintano, now 16, a “complete quadriplegic.”
In addition to NSPI in both Canada and the United States, the suit names the pool owners, the seller and the installer.
According to NSPI bankruptcy papers, the suit seeks $11 million in damages. Smye agrees. “We did ask for $11 million,” he said. “But there are unspecified damages, so it could exceed that.” He notes that Canada does place a cap on general damages for pain and suffering, unlike most U.S. courts.
Smye believes NSPI is culpable in the case because, he said, “The danger for diving into aboveground pools is notorious and obvious. NSPI has a responsibility to promote safety. They, in our view, know the risks, but they merely pay lip service to warnings, designs and safety features that could be designed, but don’t, for reasons of cost and profitability. That is the egregious nature that we intend to prove in this case.”
Unlike some of the other suits NSPI faces, Smye said this particular case is not close to a settlement. “We are duking it out,” he said. “We are currently in discovery and taking depositions.”
The Chapter 11 filing has put the case on hold temporarily, Smye said. But, he claims, “There are sufficient assets to meet our judgment and there won’t be a problem with their bankruptcy. There are no secure creditors.”
Cergol said there might not be as much money as some think.
“We are willing to listen to the parties if they’re willing to settle,” he said. “But we are not in a position to offer a great deal of money, and we really don’t see that we are liable. With all the paperwork and all these actions, it has already cost us a great deal of money.”
