City of South Haven's request for governmental immunity denied in wrongful death suit

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. — The City of South Haven had their request for governmental immunity in a wrongful death lawsuit denied by the 36th Circuit Court of Van Buren County.

The lawsuit comes after the death of 18-year-old Brandon Chambers, who drowned in South Beach in September of 2020.

In drowning lawsuits like this, governmental immunity is often granted and cases are dismissed, according to Dave Benjamin of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. However, this case could set a precedent for water safety in South Haven.

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"This isn't some money grab," Benjamin told News Channel 3. "They're literally suing for the city to do the right thing and have lifeguards in place."

Benjamin criticized the city's flag system they have in place of lifeguards. He said the system is flawed and causes concerns for water safety.

"Imagine if you're going to build a house, and you don't have a carpenter, but you have a hammer, and you have a saw, and you have lumber," he said. "Is the house going to build itself? No, you need the carpenter to use the tool and to use the materials to build the house, and that's the same situation here."

However, there is still legal work to do before the suit can go to trial. Both sides will present further information at an evidentiary pretrial to be held at a later date. If the immunity denial stands, the suit will go to trial.

Governmental immunity denials are rare, according to Mark Dotson, a professor at Cooley Law School.

"It is going to be what controls the resolution of these civil lawsuits against the governmental entity," Dotson said. "I would say, without knowing the statistics of the number of cases that are filed against the government, I would say it's rare."

Governmental immunity is a proverbial 'trump card' for governmental entities to prevent themselves from being sued, Benjamin said. Now that they can be sued, he believes it will force the city to put proper water safety practices in place, including a lifeguard system.

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"If there's a beach, and there's a parking lot, and you have to pay to park there, that should be the minimum qualification that you have a lifeguard program there," he said.

The evidentiary pretrial date has not yet been set.

News Channel 3 reached out to the City of South Haven but they did not provide comment due to this being an ongoing investigation.