Collins v. Rambo

• Decision Date: 26 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. 45A04-0411-CV-591.,45A04-0411-CV-591.
• Citation: 831 N.E.2d 241
• Parties: Carmen COLLINS, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Pauline RAMBO, Appellee-Defendant.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

831 N.E.2d 241

Carmen COLLINS, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. Pauline RAMBO, Appellee-Defendant.

No. 45A04-0411-CV-591.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

July 26, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jeffrey Oliveira, Hawk P.C. Kautz, Merrillville, for Appellant.

Matthew D. LaTulip, Harold G. Hagberg, Hagberg LaTulip, Schererville, for Appellee.

OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Case Summary

Carmen Collins appeals the denial of her motion to correct error following a three-day jury trial. We reverse.

Issue

Collins raises one issue: whether the trial court abused its discretion and committed reversible error when it gave a sudden emergency instruction.

Facts and Procedural History

On the morning of January 19, 1999, Collins was driving to work in her 1998 Ford Explorer when she approached the intersection of I-65 and Highways 12/20 (also known as 4th/5th Avenues) in Gary, Indiana. Collins' vehicle entered a left-turn lane behind four or five other vehicles, and she waited for a left-turn arrow. Behind Collins' vehicle was a 1995 Grand Am driven by Pauline Rambo and more vehicles in line to turn left. When the green left-turn arrow illuminated, Collins and the other turning traffic proceeded through the intersection. However, a "recklessly" driven van came from another direction, disregarded a yield sign, and forced itself into the left-turning traffic entering I-65. Tr. at 134. The van's maneuver prompted Collins and those in front of her to "slam on their brakes," honk their horns, and stop suddenly. Id. at 79, 128. Rambo did not observe the van around Collins' Explorer. Rather, Rambo saw Collins' vehicle suddenly stop, at which time she too hit her brakes, but still collided with the rear end of the Explorer. The resulting combined damage to the vehicles totaled less than $2,000, the majority of which was for Rambo's car. Appellant's App. at 76-77, 114.

On September 17, 1999, Collins filed a complaint in which she sought compensation for the injuries, pain, suffering, anguish and expenses "caused due to the negligence" of Rambo in the automobile accident. Id. at 29. At the conclusion of a trial held March 15-17, 2004, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the defense. The court entered judgment. On April 4, 2004, Collins filed a motion to correct error in which she argued that the court erred in giving a sudden emergency instruction over her objections when the instruction "lack[ed] evidentiary support and [was] contrary to the evidence." Id. at 43-47. Rambo filed a response. On September 7, 2004, the court held a hearing regarding the motion. Three days later, the court issued an order denying Collins' motion. We provide additional information where necessary.

Discussion and Decision

The court read the following instructions to the jury:

Every driver of a motor vehicle using a public highway has the duty to exercise the care an ordinarily prudent person would use under the same or like circumstances. The failure to exercise such care is negligence.

At the time of the occurrence being considered in this case, Indiana statutes provided as follows:

First, Indiana Code Section 9-21-5-1: A person may not drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions, having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing. Speed shall be restricted as necessary to avoid colliding with a . . . vehicle . . . on . . . a highway in compliance with legal requirements and with the duty of all persons to use due care.

Second, Indiana Code Section 9-21-8-14: A person who drives a motor vehicle may not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of both vehicles, the time interval between the vehicles and the condition of the highway.

If you find from a preponderance of the evidence that any party violated either of these statutes on the occasion in question, and the violation was without excuse or justification, such conduct would constitute fault to be assessed against that party.

At the time of the occurrence being considered in this case, an Indiana statute provided as follows:

Indiana Code Section 9-21-8-24: Movement with reasonable safety required for certain. A person may not slow down or stop a vehicle unless the movement can be made with reasonable safety.

If you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the Plaintiff violated this statute on the occasion in question and the violation was without excuse or justification, such conduct would constitute fault to be assessed against the Plaintiff.

When a person is confronted with a sudden emergency not of the person's own making without sufficient time to determine with certainty the best course to pursue, that person is not held to the same accuracy of judgment as would be required of her if she had time for deliberation. Accordingly, if the person exercises such care as an ordinarily prudent person would exercise when confronted with a similar emergency, she is not negligent.

In this case if you find from the evidence that the defendant, Pauline Rambo, was confronted with a sudden emergency and that the defendant then pursued a course of action that an ordinarily prudent person would have pursued when confronted with the same or similar emergency, then you may not assess fault to the defendant, Pauline Rambo.

You are instructed that the duty imposed upon the defendant does not require her to use every possible precaution to avoid the accident with the Plaintiff nor that the Defendant should have employed any particular means which may appear after the accident would have avoided it nor was the Defendant required to make accidents impossible. The Defendant was only required to use such reasonable precaution to prevent the accident and would have been adopted by an ordinarily prudent person under the circumstances as they appeared prior to the accident.

Tr. at 428-31 (emphasis added); see also Appellant's App. at 28.

Collins asserts that the trial court abused its discretion and committed reversible error in giving the sudden emergency final instruction (emphasized in italics above) because the evidence did not support such an instruction. According to Collins, Rambo never saw the interfering van and was unaware of the emergency created for the vehicles in front of her. Stressing that Rambo's was the only vehicle in line to turn at the intersection that "managed to collide with the vehicle in front of her," Collins maintains that Rambo "created her own situation of peril by following too closely at too great a speed." Appellant's Br. at 10. Conversely, Rambo contends that the evidence

was conflicting and supported both arguments of plaintiff's counsel as well as defendant's counsel in support of the respective parties' positions and theories of the case. As such, it could not have been conclusively established as a matter of law that Rambo, by and through negligent conduct, created an emergency situation which caused the automobile accident.

Appellee's Br. at 5.

"[A] claim of error based on the giving of an instruction is reviewed for an abuse of discretion." Aldana v. Sch. City of E. Chicago, 769 N.E.2d 1201, 1209 (Ind. Ct.App.2002), trans. denied. "A trial court should give a tendered instruction if the instruction correctly states the law, the substance of the charge is not covered by other instructions, and the evidence supports the instruction." Lashbrooks v. Schultz, 793 N.E.2d 1211, 1213 (Ind.Ct. App.2003), trans. pet. dismissed. "[E]ach party to an action is entitled to have the jury instructed upon his particular theory of complaint or defense." Sullivan v. Fairmont Homes, Inc., 543 N.E.2d 1130, 1137 (Ind.Ct.App.1989), trans. denied; see also Barnard v. Himes, 719 N.E.2d 862, 868 (Ind.Ct.App.1999), trans. denied.

Although the sudden emergency doctrine is often described as an affirmative defense¹, "it does not act to excuse fault, but rather defines the conduct to be expected of a prudent person in an emergency situation." City of Terre Haute v. Simpson, 746 N.E.2d 359, 367 (Ind.Ct.App. 2001), trans. denied. In particular, "[t]he doctrine of sudden emergency recognizes that a reasonable person innocently deprived of time to consider his actions does not always exercise the same accuracy of judgment as one who has had the opportunity for reflection." Barnard, 719 N.E.2d at 869. A trial court has a "duty to instruct" the jury regarding the sudden emergency doctrine if the evidence presented at trial supports the instruction. Aldana, 769 N.E.2d at 1210. "An instruction on sudden emergency is appropriate only when there is evidence" of three factors. Linville v. Pressley, 744 N.E.2d 974, 976 n. 1 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (emphasis added), trans. denied. First, the actor must not have created or brought about the emergency through his own negligence. Brooks v. Friedman, 769 N.E.2d 696, 699-700 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied. Second, the danger or peril confronting the actor must appear to be so imminent as to leave no time for deliberation. Id. "This, of course, includes the necessity of the actor perceiving the emergency." Lovely v. Keele, 166 Ind.App. 106, 109, 333 N.E.2d 866, 868 (1975). Third, the actor's apprehension of the peril must itself be reasonable. Brooks, 769 N.E.2d at 699-700.

Turning to the evidence in the case at bar, we note that on the day of the accident, the weather "was nice." Appellant's App. at 65. Rambo's car was traveling at five to ten miles per hour when she attempted the left turn. Id. at 57-58, 66. When Rambo saw Collins' Explorer's brake lights activate, Rambo hit the brakes of her car but still collided with Collins' vehicle. Id. at 59, 67, 74-75. Rambo testified, "I had no other choice but to stop." Id. at 59. Rambo never saw the van coming toward Collins because, in Rambo's words, "I'm sitting low and the way [Collins'] SUV is made, it's high, so I couldn't see what was in front of [Collins]." Id. at 67. Rambo learned...