Angela Anderson v. Union Electric Company

Summary

The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of Angela Anderson’s wrongful-death claims against Union Electric Company arising from the drowning and possible electrocution of her children in the Lake of the Ozarks. The Court held that dock-permit fees were not a statutory “charge” under Missouri’s Recreational Use Act and that the relevant lake areas were not “noncovered land” used primarily for commercial purposes. A dissenting opinion would have held that the dock fees constituted a charge for access to the lake.

Holdings

1. Fees paid for the privilege of building and using a private dock are not a “charge” under section 537.346 because they are not an admission price or fee for entering or using the Lake of the Ozarks for recreation. Union Electric therefore remained immune under the Recreational Use Act.
2. The portions of the lake covered by or near private docks were not “noncovered land” under section 537.348(3)(d) because Union Electric did not use them primarily for a commercial purpose. Fees charged under a federally supervised dock-permitting program to recover administrative costs did not establish a primary profit or business purpose.
3. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying leave to amend because the proposed allegations added nothing material to the Recreational Use Act analysis and could fairly be inferred from the original petition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether fees paid to Union Electric in connection with a private dock permit constituted a statutory “charge” that prevented Recreational Use Act immunity for injuries occurring in the lake.
2. Whether portions of the lake near private docks constituted “noncovered land” used primarily for commercial purposes under section 537.348(3)(d), thereby falling within an exception to Recreational Use Act immunity.
3. Whether the trial court erred in denying Anderson leave to amend her petition.

Disposition

affirmed