Submitted by Jen Friedberg and Julia Guarino, 2Ls at the University of Colorado Law School

This is a reimagining of the fateful 4th of July of 1928 on Lake Quannapowitt in the town of Wakefield, Massachusetts when a canoe seller rented a “frail and dangerous canoe” to two intoxicated individuals. One of the men hung on to the canoe for thirty minutes while calling for help before losing hold of the canoe and drowning. Although the canoe vender heard the man’s cries, he did not assist him. This case helped establish that there is no affirmative duty to rescue. Osterlind v. Hill, 160 N.E. 301 (Mass. 1928).

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