A former faculty adviser and a former coach for the embattled Iowa State University crew club — which three years ago came under scrutiny after two students drowned during a club activity — are “immune from personal liability” and have been dropped from a lawsuit scheduled for trial next week.
A Story County judge agreed with the defendants — Iowa State, the State of Iowa, former ISU Assistant Director for Sports Clubs in Recreation Services John Wolfe, former faculty adviser Jeffrey Iles, and former club coach Dustin Gentry — on that portion of their request for summary judgment, seeking a court order negating the need for the May 7 trial.
But the judge in her April 26 decision denied the summary judgment request for the rest of the defendants — including the State of Iowa and Iowa State — agreeing with the family of 20-year-old Yaakov Ben-David, one of the students who died on March 28, 2021, that “summary judgment is not proper.”
"The defendants attempt to disclaim any duty of care associated with the March 28 water practice in isolation, arguing that they did nothing to expose Mr. Ben-David to a risk of physical harm he would not have otherwise faced by getting on the water that day,“ according to the judge’s order. ”The court is not convinced.“
Ben-David’s parents, Eric and Sarah Ben-David, of New Jersey, filed their initial lawsuit Nov. 1, 2022, and then added on defendants Iles and Gentry in January 2024.
Family members of the other student who died in the crew club capsizing on Little Wall Lake three years ago — Derek Nanni, 19, of Normal, Ill. — settled their wrongful death claim with the state in December 2022 for $2 million.
With a last-minute settlement in the Ben-David case unlikely, and at least part of Iowa State’s request for summary judgment denied, a trial in Story County next week appears imminent.
“Despite the defendants’ attempts to distance themselves from the crew club, it was not just a random group of adults from Ames, Iowa, who chose to form a group and go rowing off-campus,” the judge wrote in her order. “Instead, it was a school sanctioned club subject to certain written policies and procedures — including certain ISU employees being specifically assigned to be responsible for safety training, approval of off-campus travel, and other related matters.
“A reasonable jury could find that the defendants could have reasonably foreseen harm to Mr. Ben-David in engaging in a crew club practice without any life jackets or safety training, particularly in light of the crew club raising these exact concerns to the ISU employees more than a year earlier.”
The case stems from a series of events — outlined in the lawsuit — culminating on a frigid and gusty March morning, when the ISU crew club had planned a water practice.
Two years earlier, a former club president had emailed Director Wolfe warning him the group had been out of compliance with USRowing safety protocols for years and needed a dock, launch boat with life jackets, and mandatory swim tests.
Other than the swim tests, no action was taken to address the safety concerns — and Ben-David joined the group a year later in early 2021. He had never rowed in open water, but passed the swim test March 18. Ten days later, he arrived with several others at 7:30 a.m. for a practice — absent coach Gentry.
“Weather conditions that morning violated USRowing’s safety rules and the crew club’s constitution,” according to the lawsuit, which reported, “student members had never been properly trained in the appropriate reaction to a capsize event.”
So when the boat did capsize that morning, the students left it and tried to swim to shore — even as training would have taught them to stay with the boat. Ben-David and Naani both drowned, two members were rescued from the water, and a fifth successfully swam to shore.
Unaware of the capsizing, a second group with the club opted not to go out later — due to the weather.
In suing the state, school, and several leaders involved in the club, Ben-David’s family alleged six counts — including wrongful death, reckless conduct and negligence.
In weighing the state and Iowa State’s push for summary judgment in their favor, the judge considered first their argument for entitled immunity — and denied it — finding they "failed to demonstrate as a matter of law that their inaction in the face of contrary policies and known dangers to their students was the type of judgment the legislature intended to shield from immunity.“
To the argument Iowa State didn’t owe the students “a special duty to supervise and oversee the ISU crew club and its activities,” they maintained all decisions that put Ben-David in harm’s way that day “were made by Mr. Ben-David and the other student club members.”
“They claim they did not control the overall decision to row that morning and that the crew club made all decisions that day, including whether to practice at all, when, where, how, and who would practice.”
But the court again was dissuaded by that argument.
“The main thrust of the defendants’ argument appears to be that, because they completely abdicated their obligations to provide any safety training and oversight to the crew club, the adult students engaging in an off-campus activity on March 28 did not rely on the defendants’ (lack of) safety training and oversight that day, so therefore the defendants had no duty to prevent injuries or death resulting from untrained students engaging in the activities,” according to the court order.
“Suffice it to say, the record contains a more complete picture than that put forth by the defendants, beginning with the crew club reaching out over one year before the March 28 water practice, alerting the defendants to safety concerns and requests.”
Given the volunteer status of the faculty adviser and club coach, however, both Iles and Gentry were found to be immune from personal liability and dismissed from the case.
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A Story County judge agreed with the defendants — Iowa State, the State of Iowa, former ISU Assistant Director for Sports Clubs in Recreation Services John Wolfe, former faculty adviser Jeffrey Iles, and former club coach Dustin Gentry — on that portion of their request for summary judgment, seeking a court order negating the need for the May 7 trial.
But the judge in her April 26 decision denied the summary judgment request for the rest of the defendants — including the State of Iowa and Iowa State — agreeing with the family of 20-year-old Yaakov Ben-David, one of the students who died on March 28, 2021, that “summary judgment is not proper.”
"The defendants attempt to disclaim any duty of care associated with the March 28 water practice in isolation, arguing that they did nothing to expose Mr. Ben-David to a risk of physical harm he would not have otherwise faced by getting on the water that day,“ according to the judge’s order. ”The court is not convinced.“
Ben-David’s parents, Eric and Sarah Ben-David, of New Jersey, filed their initial lawsuit Nov. 1, 2022, and then added on defendants Iles and Gentry in January 2024.
Family members of the other student who died in the crew club capsizing on Little Wall Lake three years ago — Derek Nanni, 19, of Normal, Ill. — settled their wrongful death claim with the state in December 2022 for $2 million.
With a last-minute settlement in the Ben-David case unlikely, and at least part of Iowa State’s request for summary judgment denied, a trial in Story County next week appears imminent.
“Despite the defendants’ attempts to distance themselves from the crew club, it was not just a random group of adults from Ames, Iowa, who chose to form a group and go rowing off-campus,” the judge wrote in her order. “Instead, it was a school sanctioned club subject to certain written policies and procedures — including certain ISU employees being specifically assigned to be responsible for safety training, approval of off-campus travel, and other related matters.
“A reasonable jury could find that the defendants could have reasonably foreseen harm to Mr. Ben-David in engaging in a crew club practice without any life jackets or safety training, particularly in light of the crew club raising these exact concerns to the ISU employees more than a year earlier.”
Wrongful death, reckless conduct
The case stems from a series of events — outlined in the lawsuit — culminating on a frigid and gusty March morning, when the ISU crew club had planned a water practice.
Two years earlier, a former club president had emailed Director Wolfe warning him the group had been out of compliance with USRowing safety protocols for years and needed a dock, launch boat with life jackets, and mandatory swim tests.
Other than the swim tests, no action was taken to address the safety concerns — and Ben-David joined the group a year later in early 2021. He had never rowed in open water, but passed the swim test March 18. Ten days later, he arrived with several others at 7:30 a.m. for a practice — absent coach Gentry.
“Weather conditions that morning violated USRowing’s safety rules and the crew club’s constitution,” according to the lawsuit, which reported, “student members had never been properly trained in the appropriate reaction to a capsize event.”
So when the boat did capsize that morning, the students left it and tried to swim to shore — even as training would have taught them to stay with the boat. Ben-David and Naani both drowned, two members were rescued from the water, and a fifth successfully swam to shore.
Unaware of the capsizing, a second group with the club opted not to go out later — due to the weather.
In suing the state, school, and several leaders involved in the club, Ben-David’s family alleged six counts — including wrongful death, reckless conduct and negligence.
‘The defendants had no duty’
In weighing the state and Iowa State’s push for summary judgment in their favor, the judge considered first their argument for entitled immunity — and denied it — finding they "failed to demonstrate as a matter of law that their inaction in the face of contrary policies and known dangers to their students was the type of judgment the legislature intended to shield from immunity.“
To the argument Iowa State didn’t owe the students “a special duty to supervise and oversee the ISU crew club and its activities,” they maintained all decisions that put Ben-David in harm’s way that day “were made by Mr. Ben-David and the other student club members.”
“They claim they did not control the overall decision to row that morning and that the crew club made all decisions that day, including whether to practice at all, when, where, how, and who would practice.”
But the court again was dissuaded by that argument.
“The main thrust of the defendants’ argument appears to be that, because they completely abdicated their obligations to provide any safety training and oversight to the crew club, the adult students engaging in an off-campus activity on March 28 did not rely on the defendants’ (lack of) safety training and oversight that day, so therefore the defendants had no duty to prevent injuries or death resulting from untrained students engaging in the activities,” according to the court order.
“Suffice it to say, the record contains a more complete picture than that put forth by the defendants, beginning with the crew club reaching out over one year before the March 28 water practice, alerting the defendants to safety concerns and requests.”
Given the volunteer status of the faculty adviser and club coach, however, both Iles and Gentry were found to be immune from personal liability and dismissed from the case.
Court order moves fatal crew club lawsuit against ISU to trial
A former faculty adviser and a former coach for the embattled Iowa State University crew club — which three years ago came under scrutiny after two students drowned during a club activity — are “immune from personal liability” and have been dropped from a lawsuit scheduled for trial next week.
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