Mitchell Aquatic Club denies liability after pool collapse

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The Mitchell Aquatic Club is denying any liability for damages caused to an adjacent business by the 2010 collapse of its above-ground indoor pool.

Kimberly Miiller and James Miiller, owners of Scrappin’ Ladies 2, filed a lawsuit against the MAC and other entities in January. The Miillers’ scrapbooking supply business was damaged on Feb. 28, 2010, when the MAC’s pool collapsed and sent water rushing out onto the street and into neighboring businesses.

Both the Miillers’ lawsuit and corresponding response by the MAC blame the collapse of the pool on a rupture in the pool’s liner.

The lawsuit asserts the flooding caused by the collapsed pool may have resulted in as much as $100,000 in damage to Scrappin’ Ladies 2. The owners claim the MAC, as well as the manufacturer of the pool, EZ Pool Products Inc., and property owner Weber & B Unlimited LLC, were all negligent and should be liable for damages.

In its response to the lawsuit, filed Feb. 3, the MAC denies both responsibility for the pool’s collapse and liability for the damages caused to Scrappin’ Ladies 2.

The club’s response states it “in no way caused or contributed” to the pool’s collapse, and blames a failure on the part of EZ Pool Products for the collapse and resulting damage.

The MAC also claims that it exercised ordinary and reasonable care in maintaining its pool and denies the collapse was foreseeable in any way.

In its defense, the MAC claims since it did not “design, manufacture, inspect or distribute” the pool in question and followed all instructions regarding the installation, maintenance and operation of the pool, it should not be liable for any damage caused by the pool’s collapse.

The MAC’s answer to the lawsuit also alleges the Miillers’ own negligence contributed to the damages caused to their business, but the answer does not elaborate on the allegation.

Another lawsuit by the MAC’s insurance provider, Nautilus Insurance Co., of Scottsdale, Ariz., against several companies involved in the manufacture of the collapsed pool is still ongoing.

The manufacturer of the liner for the walls of the pool, Seaman Corp., of Wooster, Ohio, had a judgment that would have forced it to pay about $50,000 to Nautilus Insurance set aside by District Judge Tim Bjorkman in January.

Nautilus is seeking compensation after paying the MAC $40,405.70 for damages caused by the pool’s collapse.

Seaman Corp. said in court it only manufactured the liner for the sides of the pool and its product was not responsible in any way for the rupture that led to the pool’s collapse.

Another company involved in the continuing litigation, Artistic Coverings Inc., of Cerritos, Calif., is awaiting word on whether it will be released from the lawsuit after claiming in court it only printed a line on the pool’s liner and was not involved in manufacturing the pool itself.

Artistic Coverings also claims a South Dakota court has no jurisdiction over it because all its activities relating to the case took place in California and it had no knowledge of where the product would be shipped.

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