Athridge v. Iglesias
| Decision Date | 15 October 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A.92-1868(RMU/JMF).,No. CIV.A.89-1222(RMU/JMF).,CIV.A.89-1222(RMU/JMF).,CIV.A.92-1868(RMU/JMF). |
| Citation | 167 F.Supp.2d 389 |
| Parties | Thomas P. ATHRIDGE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Jorge IGLESIAS, et al., Defendants. Thomas P. Athridge, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Hilda Rivas, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Lisa Rene Riggs, Koonz, McKenney, Johnson, Depaolis & Lightfoot, William Joseph Rodgers, Charles Belsome Long, Collier, Shannon, Rill & Scott, P.L.L.C., Washington, DC, Martin Stanley Protas, Bethesda, MD, for Plaintiffs.
Irving Starr, Richard Edward Starr, Alexandria, VA, David F. Grimaldi, Martell, Donnelly, Grimaldi & Gallagher, P.A., Washington, DC, for Defendants.
This case has been referred to me for all purposes pursuant to LCvR 73.1. Before me are the parties' cross motions for summary judgment.
There is no dispute as to the following facts:
In July 1987, defendants Francisco Rivas ("Mr.Rivas") and Hilda Rivas ("Mrs.Rivas"), husband and wife ("the Rivases"), residents of Washington, D.C., took an extended vacation to Guatemala. Before they left, the Rivases and Alicia Iglesias ("Mrs.Iglesias"), Mrs. Rivas' first cousin, arranged for Jorge Iglesias ("Jorge"), the 17-year-old son of Mrs. Iglesias, to mow the Rivas' lawn while they were away. On July 29, 1987, Jorge appeared at the Rivas' residence and began mowing the lawn. Upon entering the Rivas' home to use the bathroom, Jorge found the keys to the Rivas' 1986 Volkswagen Jetta in a jar on a window sill by the door. Although he was not a licensed driver, Jorge decided to go for a drive. After meeting up with some friends, he accidentally struck and injured 15-year-old Thomas Athridge, Jr. ("Tommy"), causing permanent brain damage. The Jetta was titled in the name of Churreria Madrid Restaurant, at the time a partnership owned by Mr. and Mrs. Rivas. Mrs. Rivas was the primary operator of the vehicle, which was driven both for restaurant functions and for her personal use.
The collision generated five lawsuits in this Court. In Civ. No. 89-1222 Tommy sued Jorge, Mr. Rivas, and Churreria Madrid Restaurant. In Civ. No. 92-1866, Tommy sued the Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, premising his complaint on the failure of Jorge's parents to supervise him. In Civ. No. 92-1867, Tommy sued Jorge's parents, and in Civ. No. 92-1868, Tommy sued Mrs. Rivas. Lastly, in Civ. No. 96-2708, Tommy again sued Aetna Casualty and Surety, Jorge's insurer.
By his order of November 13, 1992, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson consolidated Civ. No. 89-1222 with Civ. Nos. 92-1866, 92-1867 and 92-1868. On July 19, 1995, Judge Jackson granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants in all these cases except Jorge. The remaining claim, Tommy's negligence action against Jorge in Civ. No. 89-1222, was then transferred to Judge Harold Greene on March 3, 1996. After a trial, Judge Greene found for plaintiffs and entered judgment in Tommy's favor in Civ. No. 89-1222 on November 8, 1996. Judge Greene's decision was summarily affirmed on August 12, 1997. Athridge v. Iglasias, No. 96-7261, 1997 WL 404854 (D.C.Cir. June 30, 1997).
In the meantime, Tommy appealed from Judge Jackson's July 19, 1995, grant of summary judgment. The Court of Appeals affirmed the award of summary judgment as to all the defendants in all the suits, except the defendants Mr. Rivas and Churreria Madrid Restaurant in Civ. No. 89-1222 and the defendant Mrs. Rivas in Civ. No. 92-1868. Athridge v. Rivas, 141 F.3d 357 (D.C.Cir.1998). After remand, Civ. Nos. 89-1222 and 92-1868 were consolidated once more. Since then, the parties have conducted further discovery, including the plaintiff's deposition of Mr. and Mrs. Rivas, and have now filed cross motions for summary judgment.1
Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court must enter summary judgment if there is "no genuine issue as to any material fact and if the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
There is little question that the issue of whether Jorge had the Rivases consent to use the Jetta on July 29, 1987 is a material one, for it is a necessary requirement of the Athridges' claim. As to genuinenesss, Rules 56(c) & (e) require the non-movant to point to specific evidence that would permit a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the non-movant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Matsushita Elec. Indust Co. Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Flemmings v. Howard Univ., 198 F.3d 857, 860 (D.C.Cir.1999); Anderson v. Zubieta, 180 F.3d 329, 338 (D.C.Cir.1999). Furthermore, the court must draw all reasonable inferences in the non-movant's favor. Flemmings, 198 F.3d at 860; Zubieta, 180 F.3d at 338. Therefore, although the nonmovant's burden in defeating a summary judgment motion is not very demanding, neither is it negligible. As the Supreme Court phrased it in First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968), the non-movant's evidence must be "significantly probative." As I have emphasized, that evidence is invariably tested by whether the inference to be drawn from it is reasonable and would thereby support a reasonable finder of fact's verdict in favor of the non-movant.
Moreover, as noted in Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, the factual context surrounding the disputed issues is central in determining genuineness. For example, in response to the moving party's contention that the opposing party had violated antitrust statutes, the Court stated, "It follows from these stated principles that if the factual context renders respondents' claim implausible — if the claim is one that simply makes no economic sense — respondents must come forward with more persuasive evidence to support their claim than would otherwise be necessary." Id., at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348.
A similar obligation is equally applicable in the instant case. On the day of the accident, the Rivases were out of the country when their nephew, unlicensed and underage, took their car. The implausibility that they, without any reason, would have ever consented to such a remarkable extraordinary, and dangerous use of their car while they were out of the country requires that plaintiffs' evidence of consent amount to more than dubious inferences to be "significantly probative." Cities Service, 391 U.S. at 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575.
Defendants contend that they are not vicariously liable as a matter of law under the District of Columbia's Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act ("MVSRA"), D.C.Code Ann. § 50-1301.8 (2001) (formerly § 40-408).2 Plaintiffs, with remarkable ambition, claim they are entitled to summary judgment based on the very same provision, even though Jorge himself has upon numerous occasions conceded that he took the Jetta on impulse and without permission. Jorge's Answers to Plaintiffs' First Set of Interrogatories and Requests for Documents, at 2; Jorge's Testimony at 1996 Trial, at 16; Jorge's Deposition, at 1-40.
Under the MVSRA, the owner of an automobile bears the burden of proving that the user did not have consent. But this presumption of consent is rebuttable by uncontradicted and conclusive evidence of non-consent. Gaither v. Myers, 404 F.2d 216, 218 (D.C.Cir.1968); Jones v. Halun, 296 F.2d 597 (D.C.Cir.1961), cert denied 370 U.S. 904, 82 S.Ct. 1249, 8 L.Ed.2d 401 (1962); Simon v. Dew, 91 A.2d 214, 215-16 (D.C.Mun.App.1952). On the other hand, if the plaintiff can establish sufficient facts to discredit the defendant's asserted non-consent, then submission of the issue to a jury is warranted. Alsbrooks v. Washington Deliveries, Inc., 281 A.2d 220, 221 (D.C.1971).
If defendants meet their burden by presenting uncontradicted and conclusive evidence of non-consent, then their motion for summary judgment must be granted.
First and foremost, defendants offer the testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Rivas, Francisco Rivas, Jr., their son, and Jorge himself that Jorge did not have permission to use the Jetta on July 29, 1987. Like any other evidence, an owner's testimony of non-consent is not in itself dispositive, and may be contradicted by a lack of credibility, inconsistencies in the testimony, or inconsistent external facts.3 Gaither, 404 F.2d at 218; Lancaster v. Canuel, 193 A.2d 555, 558 (D.C.1963). Indeed, the owner may explicitly assert non-consent, but evidence to the contrary may support a judgment against him. See Schwartzbach v. Thompson, 33 A.2d 624 (D.C.1943).
What makes this case unusual, if not unique, for a MVSRA case, is the fact that the driver, too, has testified to the owners' non-consent. In the ordinary vicarious liability tort suit, the principal and the agent may adopt contrary positions with respect to consent. The driver/agent may do his utmost to argue that he had consent, in order to share liability with the owner in the hopes that the owner's insurance carrier can satisfy the judgment that will be rendered against him and the owner. Conversely, the owner/principal and his insurance carrier will argue non-consent, trying to pin all the blame, and the liability, on the driver. Here, the Rivases and GEICO their carrier, representing their respective interests run true to that form and assert Jorge's non-consent. But Jorge freely admits that he took the car on impulse and without permission, confirming the Rivases' testimony on this point.
Plaintiffs point to no direct inconsistencies in defendants' testimony. In fact, the only direct attack on defendants' testimony of non-consent is that Mr. Rivas' affidavit should be disregarded on the grounds that he...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Athridge v. Rivas, 01-7185.
...uncontradicted and conclusive evidence of non-consent, including the testimony of both Iglesias and the Rivases. See Athridge v. Rivas, 167 F.Supp.2d 389, 394 (D.D.C.2001). The District Court rejected the Athridges' arguments that there was consent and rejected their motion for summary judg......
-
Coles v. Perry
...demands of the job directly challenged by contrary, expert proof2 cannot possibly be resolved by summary judgment. Athridge v. Iglesias, 167 F.Supp.2d 389, 392 (D.D.C.2001). Finally, the teaching of the opinion in Aka, followed by the Supreme Court in Reeves, is that disbelief of the reason......
-
Broyles v. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
...on the veracity of the testimony of another witness); U.S. v. Henke, [sic] 222 F.3d 633 (9th Cir. 2000); Athridge v. Iglesias, [sic] 167 F. Supp. 2d 389, 398 (D.D.C. 2001), judgment rev'd on other grounds, 312 F.3d 474, 60 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 214 (D.C. Cir. 2002) ("Under ... 608(a) one witn......