SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A federal district court finds that the case against the City of Sioux Falls in the drowning death of an Iowa girl can go forward.
Judge Karen Schreier found that the plaintiff, Courtney Jayne, representing her deceased minor daughter Maggie Zaiger, had met their burden to survive the City’s motion for summary judgment.
The little girl fell into the Big Sioux River at Falls Park while on an outing with her family.
Summary judgment is a common procedural move, typically used by defendants, to state that there are no material facts in a case or the nonmoving party has not presented evidence to support an element of its case on which it bears the burden of proof.
Judge Schreier found:
“Jayne’s theory of the case, if believed by the jury, could establish probability. The jury could find that the City knew the foam would build up on the river’s surface and obscure the rocks’ edges, and the City deliberately allowed the foam to build up in high traffic areas where park patrons frequented and did not block those areas off.”
Maggie Zaiger drowned after approaching some suds near rocks at Falls Park and slipped into the water. Jayne said Maggie slipping into the flood-swollen Big Sioux River took only seconds.
The accident happened March 18, 2018.
City Attorney Stacy Kooistra had no comment because it is ongoing litigation. KELO.com News has also contacted Jayne’s attorneys for a comment.
The case could move on to trial unless the City appeals the decision to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Click here to read the decision.
This is a developing story.
