Judge dismisses family's lawsuit over boy's sledding death

GRAND HAVEN (AP) — A judge in western Michigan has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a park commission and its officials by the family of an 11-year-old boy who died in a sledding accident.

Ottawa County Circuit Judge Jon Hulsing ruled recently the Duncan Park Commission and its trustees are not liable in the 2009 death of Chance Nash of Nunica.

The boy struck a tree that had fallen on a hillside in the Grand Haven park, west of Grand Rapids. The family’s lawsuit said park officials were required to remove the fallen tree.

Hulsing wrote in his decision that “the natural condition of the land is open and obvious.” The judge had dismissed the lawsuit earlier, but it was returned to his court after appeals were made to higher courts.