Family files lawsuit against state in bear death
The family of Samuel Ives filed lawsuits in 4th District Court and U.S. District Court in March, alleging negligence, in that state and federal officials knew about the nuisance black bear but failed to warn campers.
Ives and his mother, step-father and step-brother had been camping at a primitive site above the official Timpooneke campground last Father's Day weekend when a bear ripped a hole in the tent, dragged young Ives out and fatally mauled him.
It was the same spot other campers had inhabited the night before when a bear brushed up against their tent, then ripped a hole in it and bit into a pillow.
Those campers informed authorities who looked for the bear the next day. But when they didn't find it that evening, the family alleges they didn't put up any warning signs for campers and even drove by Ives' family as they were heading up the canyon without saying anything.
The state recently filed their answer to the lawsuit in 4th District Court, placing the blame on the federal agencies and the boy's parents for bringing food to the campsite.
Assistant Utah Attorney General Reed Stringham said they've also filed for a motion of partial dismissal, arguing the state is protected under the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah, which protects agencies when they're performing governmental duties.
"There are a lot of different affirmative defenses there," Stringham said. "Our intention is that any of them would either partially or fully result in the dismissal of the plaintiffs lawsuit against the state."
There is also a provision in state code that says the government has immunity if an injury arises out of "natural conditions on publicly owned or controlled lands."
The state argues the bear was a natural condition in the canyon and thus mitigates any claim related to accidents stemming from it.
"It's like a fall off a cliff," said the family's attorney Allen K. Young. "You can't sue the forest (service) for the cliff. They're saying a bear is like a cliff."
Young disagrees however, saying there are rules and procedures for bears who have come into contact with humans; they become Level III nuisance bears and are euthanized.
"It (would be) different if it had randomly come into the camp that night," he said.
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com
Recent comments
Those ultrasonic dog gadgets that warn away dogs with a push of a...
I avoid bears | May 9, 2008 at 1:09 a.m.
It's a sad sentiment to believe that someone will gain closure...
Closure | May 9, 2008 at 12:32 a.m.
And you MUST take precautions, such as keeping food out of your tent...
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