Ballweg v. City of Springfield

We have consolidated two cases in this appeal. Both cases arose out of a boating accident on Lake Springfield which resulted in the electrocution deaths of Donna Ballweg and Jana Welch. Donna Ballweg’s father, the administrator of her estate (the plaintiff), brought the first of these consolidated cases against the manufacturer of the boat, Coast Catamaran Corporation (Coast); Coast’s parent company, the Coleman Company (Coleman); and the city of Springfield. The complaint sought recovery based on strict liability in tort. Coast and Coleman filed counterclaims against the pilot of the boat,…