Iglehart v. Iglehart

• Decision Date: 23 October 2003
• Docket Number: No. 20030063.,20030063.
• Citation: 2003 ND 154,670 N.W.2d 343
• Parties: Debbie IGLEHART, as the surviving Spouse of Joseph Iglehart, Deceased, for herself and on behalf of Ariel Iglehart, the minor Daughter of Joseph Iglehart, and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Joseph Iglehart, deceased, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. James P. IGLEHART, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

670 N.W.2d 343

2003 ND 154

Debbie IGLEHART, as the surviving Spouse of Joseph Iglehart, Deceased, for herself and on behalf of Ariel Iglehart, the minor Daughter of Joseph Iglehart, and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Joseph Iglehart, deceased, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. James P. IGLEHART, Defendant and Appellee.

No. 20030063.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

October 23, 2003.

Steven L. Latham, Wheeler Wolf, Bismarck, ND, for plaintiff and appellant.

Jay H. Fiedler, Pearson Christensen, Grand Forks, ND, for defendant and appellee.

VANDE WALLE, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Debbie Iglehart appealed from summary judgment dismissing her negligence action arising out of Joseph Iglehart's death. We affirm.

I

[¶ 2] Joseph Iglehart ("decedent") suffered severe burns and died of asphyxiation after he was buried by rotten corn inside a Harvestore silo on April 26, 1999. His wife Debbie Iglehart brought a wrongful death action against James Iglehart, decedent's father and business partner, for herself and on behalf of the couple's daughter. She also brought a survival action as the personal representative of decedent's estate. Debbie Iglehart alleged decedent's death was caused by his father's negligence, which included but was not limited to failing to warn decedent of the dangers of the work he was performing, failing to provide a safe workplace and equipment, and negligently selecting the manner of work he was performing.

[¶ 3] Decedent began working on his father's farm when he was five years old. His chores included cleaning out the Harvestore silos located on the farm. After he attended diesel mechanic school, he returned to the farm. Father and son formed several partnerships and joint ventures. J & J Cattle, LLP, was one of the partnerships. James Iglehart was the managing partner and all net profits and losses were allocated in proportion to each partner's interest.

[¶ 4] James Iglehart purchased the Harvestore silo in which decedent died from Laverne Schaefer of Bobcat of Mandan in 1972. The silo contained a warning above the approximately twenty inch by thirty inch door, which stated: "Danger. Do not enter. Not enough oxygen to support life." The door was located about three feet above the ground. In 1998, decedent and James Iglehart began using an auger to remove corn from the silo in order to feed their cattle. The unloader in the silo was used to bring corn to the auger, and the auger was used to load it into a wagon. However, that winter the unloader quit working so they simply opened the silo door and let the corn run out. As a result, the silo developed a dent because corn began to rot and stick to the inside of the silo. Decedent discussed this problem with Schaefer, and Schaefer warned him not to enter the silo because the material might fall on him.

[¶ 5] Decedent told his brother Tom Iglehart about the dent. Tom Iglehart subsequently looked inside the silo and saw corn stuck on the sides. He stated in a deposition that what he saw "spooked [him] bad" and he warned decedent not to enter the silo. At a family wedding the weekend before decedent died, he told his brother-in-law Christopher Steckler that he was going to remove the rotten corn stuck to the side of the silo. According to Steckler's deposition testimony, Steckler suggested alternative methods to remove the corn and he and others told him not to go into the silo.

[¶ 6] A few days before his death, decedent had a conversation regarding the silo with John Iglehart and John Iglehart's daughter, Kathy Kovarik. In his affidavit, John Iglehart stated he told decedent it was dangerous to go into the silo. Kathy Kovarik's affidavit stated decedent was well aware of the dangers of entering the silo. Decedent's sister, Jean Graeber, also stated in an affidavit that he knew the dangers of entering a silo because, in the past, he had warned her not to go into a silo.

[¶ 7] Decedent died on April 26, 1999. That afternoon he intended to go to the bank, but his wife told him it was unlikely anyone at the bank would see him so late in the afternoon. Instead, he went to the farm around 3:15 p.m. He was not home by supper that evening. His body was found buried in the silage with his leg sticking out toward the door of the silo. No tools of any kind were found with him, and he had not spoken to his father that day. His father had recently purchased a "grain vac," which could have been used to clean out the rotten corn. However, on the day decedent died, the grain vac was still located at the farm where it was purchased, approximately six miles away.

[¶ 8] Based on these facts, James Iglehart moved for summary judgment. The district court granted his motion and dismissed the case with prejudice because there were no issues of material fact and he was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

II

[¶ 9] Whether summary judgment was properly granted is "a question of law which we review de novo on the entire record." Wahl v. Country Mut. Ins. Co., 2002 ND 42, ¶ 6, 640 N.W.2d 689.

Summary judgment is a procedural device for promptly and expeditiously disposing of an action without a trial if either party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law and no dispute exists as to either the material facts or the reasonable inferences to be drawn from undisputed facts, or resolving the factual disputes will not alter the result. Issues of fact may become questions of law if reasonable persons could reach only one conclusion from the facts. Summary judgment is appropriate against parties who fail to establish the existence of a factual dispute on an essential element of their claim and on which they will bear the burden of proof at trial.

Hilton v. North Dakota Educ. Ass'n, 2002 ND 209, ¶ 23, 655 N.W.2d 60 (citations omitted). The evidence is reviewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and that party receives the benefit of all inferences that can reasonably be drawn from the evidence. Trinity Health v. North Central Emergency Services, 2003 ND 86, ¶ 15, 662 N.W.2d 280.

[¶ 10] This Court has stated:

Although the party seeking summary judgment has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the party resisting the motion may not simply rely upon the pleadings. Nor may the opposing party rely upon unsupported, conclusory allegations. The resisting party must present competent admissible evidence by affidavit or other comparable means which raises an issue of material fact and must, if appropriate, draw the court's attention to relevant evidence in the record by setting out the page and line in depositions or other comparable documents containing testimony or evidence raising an issue of material fact.

In summary judgment proceedings, neither the trial court nor the appellate court has any obligation, duty, or responsibility to search the record for evidence opposing the motion for summary judgment. The opposing party must also explain the connection between the factual assertions and the legal theories in the case, and cannot leave to the court the chore of divining what facts are relevant or why facts are relevant, let alone material, to the claim for relief.

Anderson v. Meyer Broad. Co., 2001 ND 125, ¶ 14, 630 N.W.2d 46 (quoting Peterson v. Zerr, 477 N.W.2d 230, 234 (N.D.1991) (citations omitted)). Additionally, mere speculation is not enough to defeat a motion for summary judgment. BTA Oil Producers v. MDU Res. Group, Inc., 2002 ND 55, ¶ 49, 642 N.W.2d 873. A scintilla of evidence is not sufficient to support a claim, there must be enough evidence for a reasonable jury to find for the plaintiff. Wishnatsky v. Huey, 1998 ND APP 8, ¶ 5, 584 N.W.2d 859 (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

[¶ 11] Actionable negligence consists of a duty, breach, and an injury that was proximately caused by the breach. Diegel v. City of West Fargo, 546 N.W.2d 367, 370 (N.D.1996). Negligence actions are generally not appropriate for summary judgment because they involve issues of fact. Kimball v. Landeis, 2002 ND 162, ¶ 7, 652 N.W.2d 330. However, the existence of a duty is usually a preliminary question of law, unless it depends on facts that must be determined by the fact finder. Diegel, at 370 (citing Crowston v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 521 N.W.2d 401, 406 (N.D.1994) and Rawlings v. Fruhwirth, 455 N.W.2d 574, 577 (N.D.1990)).

III

[¶ 12] Debbie Iglehart asserts several theories regarding a duty James Iglehart owed to decedent. She claims he owed a duty similar to that between an employer and an employee, a lessor and a lessee, and an owner of land and an entrant. There is scant, if any, evidence of the several theories of relationships she advances. Perhaps the most logical relationship would be that of lessor-lessee. However, "[g]enerally, the common law imposes upon landlords no liability to their tenants or other entrants for injuries due to dangerous conditions on the leased premises." Bellemare v. Gateway Builders, Inc., 420 N.W.2d 733, 740 (N.D. 1988) (applying the common law to an agricultural lease).¹

Except as stated in §§ 357 and 360-362, a lessor of land is not subject to liability to his lessee or others upon the land with the consent of the lessee or sublessee for physical harm caused by any dangerous condition which comes into existence after the lessee has taken possession.

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 355 (1965); see also Avron v. Plummer, 132 N.W.2d 198, 207 (N.D.1964) (quoting Restatement of the Law, Torts, § 355 (1948 Supp.)). Sections 360-362 deal with partial leases of land and negligent repairs by the lessor and do not appear to apply to this case. Section 357 states:

A lessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm caused to his lessee and others upon the land with the consent of the lessee or his sublessee by a condition of disrepair existing before or arising after the lessee has taken possession if

(a)

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