MIKELL, Judge.
Laura Boller, as the widow of Thomas Anthony Boller and as the administrator of his estate, brought this wrongful death action against Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, Inc. (the "Arts Center"). The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Arts Center, and Boller appeals. Finding no error, we affirm.
We review the grant or denial of summary judgment de novo,
Viewed in the proper light, the record reflects that on the evening of July 24, 2004, Boller and her husband went to the Chastain Park Amphitheatre to attend an outdoor concert sponsored by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (the "ASO"), a division of the Arts Center. The Arts Center was the organizer of the concert and had custody and control of the Amphitheatre on that evening. The ASO had contracted with an ambulance service to have a stand-by ambulance at its "events," but unfortunately, no ambulance was on duty at this particular concert. At some time between 8:00 and 8:10 p.m., Boller's husband dropped her off at the main gate of the Amphitheatre and proceeded to park his car. As he walked through the parking area on his way back to the Amphitheatre, he collapsed, suffering cardiac arrest. A parking attendant heard him fall and immediately summoned a police officer, Sergeant Patterson, who was directing traffic nearby. Patterson could get no response from him, so she called Lieutenant Mathis, an on-site officer, who told her that no on-site ambulance was available and that she should call 911, which she proceeded to do. According to Patterson's statement, she was first made aware of Mr. Boller's collapse at 8:20 p.m.; she called 911 at around 8:35 p.m.; and a Fulton County Emergency Medical Services ambulance arrived at approximately 8:45 p.m. Mr. Boller was transported to Piedmont Hospital and efforts were made to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead approximately nine minutes after he arrived at the hospital.
Laura Boller sued the Arts Center for her husband's wrongful death. Boller claimed that the Arts Center breached its duty of care to her husband, an invitee, by its failure to have on site either an ambulance or an officer operating an automatic external defibrillator device ("AED") and by its failure to maintain a safety and security plan to govern the actions of employees and security personnel during a medical emergency. She claimed that this failure resulted in a delay in medical treatment for her husband's condition, and she submitted the testimony of a medical expert that if her husband had received medical care in under six minutes, whether from an on-site ambulance or from an officer operating an AED, he would not have died. Boller further claimed that the Arts Center breached its contractual duty as she and her husband were intended third party beneficiaries of an agreement between Chastain Ventures (of which the Arts Center was a member) and the City of Atlanta, which required that the Venture provide for professional management of the venue.
In granting the Arts Center's motion for summary judgment, the trial court concluded that the Arts Center had no duty to provide an on-site ambulance or AED; that the existence of a crowd, by itself, did not constitute a hazard or dangerous condition; and that the Arts Center did not have superior knowledge of any dangerous condition. The court concluded that the Arts Center acted with reasonable and ordinary care to procure medical care for Mr. Boller almost immediately after he fell and his condition was confirmed by Patterson. The court rejected Boller's argument that the Arts Center voluntarily undertook to provide on-site medical care by reason of the contract calling for a stand-by ambulance, reasoning that imposing liability on this ground would conflict with the "Good Samaritan" statute, OCGA § 51-1-29. The trial court did not address Boller's claim that the Arts Center was liable under a contract of which the Bollers were third party beneficiaries.
1. Boller contends that the trial court erred in ruling that the Arts Center had no duty to provide an on-site ambulance or AED to her husband and that it acted with reasonable care in obtaining emergency medical assistance when he became ill. We disagree.
(a) A legal duty sufficient to support liability in negligence is "either a duty imposed by a valid statutory enactment of the legislature or a duty imposed by a recognized common law principle declared in the reported decisions of our appellate courts."
In that case, the defendant did not create the decedent's underlying medical condition.
The trial court correctly ruled that the Arts Center owed no duty to provide emergency medical services to the decedent in this case,
(b) Boller objects to the trial court's statement that the Arts Center acted with reasonable and ordinary care to procure medical care for Mr. Boller once his condition became apparent. We note that once the Arts Center staff elected to provide first aid to Mr. Boller, their actions fell under the scope of the "Good Samaritan" statute, which provides:
2. Boller contends that the trial court erred in failing to rule that the Arts Center had a duty to mitigate the hazard created by its concert, and that the Arts Center had superior knowledge of a dangerous condition. An occupier of land owes its invitees a duty to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe
3. Boller asserts that summary judgment should not have been granted to the Arts Center because the decedent was a third-party beneficiary of the Renewal Agreement, which provided for the lease of the Amphitheatre by the City of Atlanta to Chastain Ventures. Boller relies on the Renewal Agreement's requirement that the Arts Center "manage and operate the [Amphitheatre] in a manner consistent with the management principles of professional entertainment facilities and in accordance with existing City and State of Georgia policies, procedures, laws and ordinances." This enumeration fails.
"In order for a third party to have standing to enforce a contract, it must clearly appear from the contract that it was intended for his or her benefit. The mere fact that the third party would benefit from performance of the agreement is not alone sufficient."
In the case at bar, Chastain Ventures' lease with the City of Atlanta contains no language reflecting an intent to confer a direct benefit on any patrons or attendees of the concerts held at the Amphitheatre. Consequently, the evidence does not support a finding that the decedent was a third-party beneficiary of Chastain Ventures' Renewal Agreement with the City of Atlanta.
Judgment affirmed.
SMITH, P.J., and DILLARD, J., concur.