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Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine

Case Date: 04/06/2000
Court: 1st District Appellate
Docket No: 1-99-0012

Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, No. 1-99-0012

1st District, April 6, 2000

FOURTH DIVISION

REX R. SPRIETSMA, Administrator of the Estate of JEANNE SPRIETSMA, Deceased,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

MERCURY MARINE, a division of BRUNSWICK CORPORATION, a corporation,

Defendant-Appellee.

 Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The Honorable Joseph N. Casciato, Judge, Presiding.

JUSTICE BARTH delivered the opinion of the court:

The plaintiff, Rex Sprietsma, as administrator of the estate of his deceased wife, Jeanne, filed this wrongful death action against, inter alia, Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (Mercury), for the benefit of himself, the surviving spouse, and his son, Ross. Jeanne died after falling from a motor boat and being struck by the propeller blades of the boat's outboard engine. That engine was not equipped with a propeller guard.

Mercury moved to dismiss pursuant to section 2-619 (735 ILCS 5/2-619 (West 1998)), on the ground that the common law tort claims on which Sprietsma's wrongful death action is based are preempted by provisions of the Federal Boat Safety Act (FBSA or Act) (46 U.S.C.