Judge rules Myrtle Beach dual role lifeguarding as ‘significant threat to public safety.’

A Myrtle Beach-based lifeguard provider hit with one of the largest civil suits in state history had its request for a smaller penalty tossed by a judge on Nov. 28.

Lack’s Beach Service, found liable Aug. 1 for the 2018 drowning death of a Maryland vacationer, was ordered to pay $20.7 million in damages to his fiance and their three children. That amount includes $7 million in punitive costs to end a “dual role” model allowing it to profit from beach chair and umbrella rentals in exchange for lifeguards along sections of Myrtle Beach oceanfront.

Attorneys for the company argued in court filings the punishment was too severe and based on a reactionary jury rather than on facts.

But 15th Circuit Court Judge Kristi F. Curtis said Lack’s adherence to the “dual role” system — discredited by every major water rescue group in America — justified the $7 million fine. Punitive damages are designed to punish at-fault parties for negligence and recklessness.

Curtis said in Lack’s case, the high amount should serve as a deterrent in continuing with its current business model.

“Given the evidence that Lack’s business practices posed a significant threat to public safety to an area that is a major attraction for tourists, the award is both reasonably related to the grave harm likely to result from the conduct and large enough to deter the defendant from continuing to engage in like conduct,” Curtis ruled.

Curtis has so far been silent on the $13.7 million penalty for actual damages related to the death of 41-year-old Zerihun Wolde. The Silver Spring, Maryland man and avid swimmer was pulled underwater by a rip current on a stretch of beach that was supposed be monitored by a lifeguard.

His fiancee, Meswaet Abel, brought a wrongful death suit in 2019 against Lack’s. The couple shared three children.

“The conduct of Lack’s in employing a decades-long system of “dual role” lifeguards even in the face of repeated warnings ... that the practice was dangerous and violated USLA (U.S. Lifesaving Association) standards supports the punitive damages award,” Curtis wrote in a five-page ruling.

This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 7:06 AM.