Staats v. Vintner’s Golf Club, LLC

Staats nearly died after being attacked by a swarm of yellow jackets while playing golf on a Yountville course operated by Vintner’s Golf Club. She sued the Club for general negligence and premises liability. The trial court granted summary judgment against her on the basis that the Club owed no duty to protect its patrons from yellow jackets that came from an undiscovered nest on the course. The court of appeal reversed. The duty of golf course operators to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition includes a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect patrons from nests of yellow jackets on the premises. The measures a golf course operator must take to satisfy this duty may vary, the court did not address whether the Club breached its duty, or whether any such breach caused Staats’s injuries. View "Staats v. Vintner's Golf Club, LLC" on Justia Law