$1.25-Million Award Won by Boy’s Family in Camp-Out Death

A Glendale Superior Court jury has awarded $1.25 million to the family of a student at Campbell Hall school in Studio City who died of hypothermia while sleeping in a tent on a cold, rainy night during a camping trip to Big Bear Lake.

The parents of 12-year-old Kenneth M. Sprunt III, who died Oct. 24, 1989, contended that the boy’s death could easily have been avoided if the counselors overseeing the excursion had gone to a nearby lodge when it started raining.

The boy’s death was discovered by his two tent mates, when they awoke about 6:30 a.m.

Kenneth’s parents, Deborah Capra and Kenneth M. Sprunt Jr., sued Campbell Hall--a prestigious private school--and the Boojum Institute for Experiential Education, an Idyllwild-based nonprofit group that supervised the wilderness trip.

Campbell Hall settled the case for an undisclosed amount immediately before the trial began. The school’s attorney could not be reached for comment. The trial proceeded against the Boojum Institute, against which the judgment was returned.

At the time of his death, the boy lived with his mother and stepfather--Frank Capra Jr., son of famed film director Frank Capra--in Hancock Park. The Capras have since moved to Malibu. The boy’s father lives outside the state.

The parents’ suit contended that the school and the institute were negligent in caring for the children during the trip.

During a four-week Superior Court trial that concluded last week, Russell S. Kussman, an attorney for Kenneth’s family, argued that the counselors should not have kept the group of 40 seventh-graders outdoors all night in temperatures near 30 degrees and rain.

“They had a van and the lodge was half a mile away,” Kussman said. “All they had to do was get in the van and go to the lodge, but instead they made these kids sleep in the rain.”

But Michael Belcher, attorney for the Boojum Institute, said it did not start raining until after 1 a.m., and only a small amount of rain fell. The counselors felt that it was better to leave the children asleep in their tents than move them, Belcher said.

“If there was a danger involved, believe me, they would have taken appropriate steps,” Belcher said. “But an evacuation at 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning might have presented more dangers than keeping the kids there.

“Rain is something you run into on wilderness camp-outs,” Belcher added. “It is part of the experience.”

The institute attorney also said that Kenneth had a warm sleeping bag and a foam pad. He said that Kenneth--who had a history of asthma and other respiratory problems--may have died from other causes.

Belcher said he is considering an appeal of the verdict, which he believes was based on the jurors’ sympathy for Kenneth’s parents.

“I really do not believe that the evidence supported this,” the lawyer said.