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	831 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 :: (805) 564–2444

CONTACTS:

A. Barry Cappello                                                    

Cappello & Noël                                                     

805-564-2444                                                                                                                 

abcappello@cappellonoel.com                             

Diane Rumbaugh

Rumbaugh Public Relations

805-493-2877

rumbaugh@earthlink.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  July 19, 2007

CATHEDRAL OAKS ATHLETIC CLUB SUED OVER

DROWNING DEATH OF 4-YEAR-OLD BOY

            SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.--A lawsuit was filed today against Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club in Goleta over the death of a 4-year-old boy who drowned in the club's swimming pool. The lawsuit is charging the club and its owners with gross negligence and wrongful death. (Oded Gottesman et. al vs. Cathedral Oaks Tennis, Swim & Athletic Club, Inc., Santa Barbara Athletic Club, Inc., Club West, Inc., et. al, Santa Barbara Superior Court, Case No. 01246093.

            On August 15, 2005, Anat Gottesman took her four-year-old son Jonathan (Yoni) to his first day of a summer camp offered at Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club. The club had promoted its "Summer Activity Camp" to parents with children ages 4 through 10. The camp brochure touted its "solid reputation for providing the highest quality swim instruction available" and promised that participating children would have a "safe experience."

            "That obviously wasn't the case," says A. Barry Cappello, managing partner of the Santa Barbara law firm of Cappello & Noël and attorney for the Gottesmans. "We later found that the camp was an unsafe, illegal and unlicensed childcare program and the staff was improperly trained."

            During a 40-minute recreational swim time, the young Gottesman drowned. His drowning was captured by a surveillance camera focused on the club pool. The camera shows Yoni being aggressively dunked by a camp counselor, struggling to stay afloat and then floating face down in the water. A lifeguard, no further than six feet from the pool, ignores the little boy while he floats motionless for eight minutes.

            The camp counselor, standing in the water within a few feet of Yoni, continues to rough-house several children and takes no notice of Yoni. A second lifeguard on duty walks past the drowning Yoni and leaves the pool area to get a soda and does not return until after Yoni is pulled from the pool.

            "It was a camper who finally noticed Yoni floating face down in the pool and called it to the attention of a camp counselor. It was only then that any action was taken to rescue Yoni," says Cappello. "Improper resuscitation and CPR techniques and equipment were used after Yoni was pulled from the water and there was a lengthy delay in calling 911. When the paramedics arrived, critical information about Yoni's condition was misreported to the paramedics by camp personnel."

            Following Yoni’s death, the State of California, Department of Social Services investigated the camp and determined that it did not have a license to provide childcare and was in violation of California Health and Safety Code Section 1596.80 and 1596.805.

            "Yoni's parents sought criminal charges for their son's death, after realizing that the Sheriff office did not investigate the case thoroughly, but the local District Attorney refused to file despite plenty of evidence of criminal neglect," says Cappello. An appeal to the State Attorney General’s office for intervention and a criminal filing was also refused, solely due to internal administrative standard. "By not filing and publicizing the negligent actions on the part of the Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club and its staff, local law enforcement agencies have not done their part to protect our children and to warn Santa Barbara parents about the serious safety issues prevalent at the club," says Cappello. "This is critical information parents would want to know. Drowning is the number one cause of death of four year-olds."

            According to the complaint, numerous parents have come forward since Gottesman's death to report they saw club lifeguards paying little or not attention to children in the pool. "Even after Yoni's death parents have observed children swimming unattended by a club lifeguard," notes Cappello.

            Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are West Coast Athletic Clubs, which own Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club, Santa Barbara Athletic Club and Club West, club owners Richard Berti, Richard Ortale, Julie Main and Jim Knell, and camp personnel who were on duty at the time of Gottesman's death.

            "Cathedral Oaks falsely advertised itself as a safe and secure environment for kids," says Cappello. "The Gottesmans relied on these misleading assurances, and now, their young boy is dead. Losing a child in the manner in which Yoni died is horrific. His parents are distraught. The club and its owners and staff need to be held accountable."

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