Court upholds dismissal of Geneva dam drowning lawsuit
An appellate court panel upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the family of a Naperville man who drowned saving his girlfriend's 12-year-old son from the Geneva dam along the Fox River in August 2011.
Relatives of Randy Suchy, 59, sought unspecified damages from the city of Geneva and the Geneva Park District, arguing they were negligent in his death.
In its ruling Friday, the court panel concluded the city of Geneva and the park district did not have a duty to warn residents of the open and obvious danger presented by the dam.
"Assuming that all of the plaintiff's well-pleaded facts are true, his complaint failed to state a cause of action for negligence because he failed to allege facts to establish that defendants owed decedent a duty to warn of or protect against the risks presented by the river and dam," read part of the 23-page ruling.
A Kane County judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2012, concluding the city and park district had no control over the river or dam because they are owned by the state and maintained and controlled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Suchy, a veteran of the U.S. Marines and avid scuba diver, jumped in and saved the Bolingbrook boy during a church outing and fishing trip.