Judge Drops Michigan City From Lawsuit Over Marina Death

A Michigan judge has dropped Traverse City’s government from a lawsuit filed by the family of a young man who died after getting an electric shock as he swam near a municipal marina.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports Wednesday that Circuit Judge Thomas Power ruled the city had governmental immunity in the case. But the suit against the marina manager is going forward.

Eighteen-year-old Michael Knudsen of Mancelona died in August 2011 while swimming in Grand Traverse Bay. City documents show two separate breaks in an electric power line leaked electricity into the water.

City attorney Gretchen Olsen said the city might appeal Power’s decision not to remove marina manager Barry Smith from the suit as well. The judge said someone at the marina must have known of the problems.