Day v. Amor Ministries
Arizona Court of Appeals
2013 WL 709660
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
Ron and Heather Day (plaintiffs), Arizona residents, were members of Central Christian Church of the East Valley (Central) (defendants), an Arizona corporation, where they regularly attended services for many years. The Days traveled to Mexico with a mission group from Central to build wood-framed structures. Amor Ministries (Amor) (defendant), which arranged mission-construction projects, designed the buildings and delivered the materials, but Central primarily coordinated the trip, assigned the volunteers to jobs, and supervised the work. While building a church roof, Ron stepped on an unsheathed rafter and fell, suffering serious injuries. The Days sued Central and Amor for negligence and loss of consortium in Arizona state court. Following trial, the jury awarded Ron $3,695,000 in damages, apportioning fault at 5 percent for Ron, 15 percent for Amor, and 80 percent for Central. The jury awarded Heather $1,250,000. Central appealed, arguing that Mexican law rather than Arizona law should have applied to the Days’ claims. Unlike Arizona, Mexico limited damages for negligence to out-of-pocket expenses and barred recovery by plaintiffs who contributed to their injuries.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Swann, J.)
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