Dado v. Jeeninga, 45A03-0004-CV-129.
| Decision Date | 24 January 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. 45A03-0004-CV-129.,45A03-0004-CV-129. |
| Citation | 743 N.E.2d 291 |
| Parties | Laura DADO, Appellant-Defendant, v. Sidney JEENINGA and Wendy Jeeninga, Appellees-Plaintiffs. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Ray L. Szarmach, Szarmach & Fernandez, Merrillville, IN, Attorney for Appellant.
Laura Dado ("Laura") appeals the judgment entered by a small claims court in favor of Sidney and Wendy Jeeninga in the amount of $1,650. We affirm.
Issue(s)
Laura presents two issues, which we restate as:
I. Is there evidence in the record supporting the small claims court's determination that Laura was at fault for damages to Wendy Jeeninga's car?
II. Was there sufficient evidence to support the court's award of damages?
The facts most favorable to the judgment reveal that, prior to April 4, 1997, Wendy Jeeninga ("Wendy") and her son had been temporarily residing in Laura's home. Although Wendy did not pay rent, she allowed Laura to use her 1984 Chevrolet Cavalier and bought groceries for Laura. On April 4, 1997, Wendy allowed Laura to use the car to drive to the home and check if the home was locked. Laura was involved in an accident while driving the vehicle. Wendy tried to secure payment for the damages from Laura, but was unsuccessful in her efforts. On March 1, 1999, Wendy filed a Notice of Claim against Laura in the Lake Superior Court, Small Claims Division. At trial, held on June 16, 1999, Wendy introduced photographs of her vehicle, apparently showing the damages caused in Laura's accident, and produced two estimates of the cost to repair the car. On June 29, 1999, the trial court found in favor of Wendy and against Laura in the amount of $1,650, the higher of the two submitted repair estimates. On July 29, 1999, Laura filed a Motion to Correct Errors, which was denied on December 30, 1999. Laura now appeals.
Upon appeal, Laura claims that there was no evidence of her fault introduced at trial. Laura also maintains that the trial court erred in determining the amount of damages she was required to pay to Wendy. Specifically, Laura claims that Wendy produced no evidence concerning the fair market value of the car.
Initially, we note that Wendy has failed to file an appellee's brief. When an appellee fails to submit a brief, an appellant may prevail by making a prima facie case of error. Kostuck v. Brown, 684 N.E.2d 573, 574 (Ind.Ct.App.1997). The prima facie error rule protects this court and takes from us the burden of controverting arguments advanced for reversal, a duty which appropriately remains with the appellee. Id. In City of Dunkirk Water & Sewage Dep't v. Hall, 657 N.E.2d 115 (Ind. 1995), the Indiana Supreme Court stated the standard of review to be used on an appeal from a small claims judgment:
Judgments in small claims actions are "subject to review as prescribed by relevant Indiana rules and statutes." Ind. Small Claims Rule 11(A). In the appellate review of claims tried by the bench without a jury, the reviewing court shall not set aside the judgment "unless clearly erroneous, and due regard shall be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of the witnesses." Ind. Trial Rule 52(A). In determining whether a judgment is clearly erroneous, the appellate tribunal does not reweigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses but considers only the evidence that supports the judgment and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from that evidence. A judgment in favor of a party having the burden of proof will be affirmed if the evidence was such that from it a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that the elements of the party's claim were established by a preponderance of evidence. This deferential standard of review is particularly important in small claims actions, where trials are "informal, with the sole objective of dispensing speedy justice between the parties according to the rules of substantive law." Ind. Small Claims Rule 8(A).
Id. at 116 (citations omitted).
Laura contends that there was no evidence before the trial court concerning any negligence on her part. According to Laura, the only evidence introduced at trial concerning negligence was her testimony that she did not believe that the automobile accident was her fault. To prevail in an action for negligence, plaintiffs must establish: 1) a duty owed to the plaintiff by the defendant to conform his or her conduct to a standard of care arising from his or her relationship with the plaintiff; 2) a breach of this duty by the defendant; and 3) an injury to the plaintiff proximately caused by the breach. Cole v. Gohmann, 727 N.E.2d 1111, 1115 (Ind.Ct.App. 2000). In the present case, Laura claims that there was no evidence of a breach of duty between her and Wendy vis-à-vis the car.
The duty owed by Laura to Wendy depends upon the standard of care arising from their relationship. Cole, supra, 727 N.E.2d at 1115. Laura claims that their relationship was one of bailor and bailee. We agree. A bailment is an express or implied agreement that one party (the bailor) will entrust personal property to another (the bailee) for a specific purpose and that, when the purpose is accomplished, the bailee will return the property to the bailor. Pitman v. Pitman, 717 N.E.2d 627, 631 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). Here, Wendy expressly allowed Laura to use the car for the specific purpose of going to Laura's home to check whether she had locked the door. After she had done this, Laura returned the car to Wendy. Thus, a bailment relationship existed between Laura and Wendy concerning the car.
The standard of care that exists in a bailment relationship depends upon the nature of the bailment. Id. Laura claims that the bailment was one of mutual benefit, as she was allowed to use Wendy's car as partial consideration for allowing Wendy to stay at her home. Thus, she claims that she was required to exercise ordinary care. Pitman, 717 N.E.2d at 631. Laura further claims that there was no evidence before the court that she failed to exercise ordinary care. However, a prima facie case of negligence exists upon proof that a bailment existed and damage occurred. Kottlowski v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 670 N.E.2d 78, 84 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). Once a prima facie case is established, the burden shifts to the bailee to prove that he or she was not negligent. Id. Here, Laura admits that a bailment existed and that she returned the car in a damaged condition. Although she specifically denied fault in the accident, the trial court was not bound to believe Laura's testimony. Because we will not reweigh evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses upon appeal, we cannot say that Laura has demonstrated, prima facie, that the trial court erred in finding her liable for the damage to Wendy's car.
Next, Laura claims that the trial court erred in determining the amount of damages she owed to Wendy. In support of her position, Laura relies upon Wiese-GMC, Inc. v. Wells, 626 N.E.2d 595 (Ind. Ct.App.1993). In Wiese-GMC, this court stated:
[T]he fundamental measure of damages in a situation where an item of personal property is damaged, but not destroyed, is the reduction in fair market value caused by the negligence of the tortfeasor. This reduction in fair market value may be proved in any of three ways, depending on the circumstances. First, it may be proved by evidence of the fair market value before and the fair market value after the causative event. Secondly, it may be proved by evidence of the cost of repair where repair will restore the personal property to its fair market value before the causative event. Third, the reduction in fair market value may be proved by a combination of evidence of the cost of repair and evidence of the fair market value before the causative event and the fair market value after repair, where repair will not restore the item of personal property to its fair market value before the causative event.
Id. at 599, emphasis added. In the order denying Laura's Motion to Correct Errors, the trial court stated that it "used the second method [from Wiese-GMC] of determining the damages in the instant case." Record at 32.
Laura argues that Wendy bore the burden under this standard to establish the fair market value of her car before and after the accident. She reasons that since no such evidence was submitted, the trial court had no basis upon which to conclude that the cost of repairs would restore Wendy's car to its pre-accident fair market value. Laura argues that in the absence of such evidence, the trial court's award of repair costs may present a windfall to Wendy. We agree that a plaintiff should generally not recover an amount that places him in a better position than he was prior to an accident, and that recovery of repair costs in excess of the reduction in a vehicle's fair market value as a result of an accident, or in excess of the pre-accident value of the vehicle itself, would result in an impermissible over-recovery. See Gass v. Agate Ice Cream, Inc., 264 N.Y. 141, 190 N.E. 323, 324 (1934). Nevertheless, we do not agree that Wendy was obligated to negate the possibility of a windfall by establishing the fair market value of her car before and after the accident. Rather, that burden properly rested with Laura as the defending party.
It is true that this court has held that when a plaintiff seeks to recover the cost of repairs in a property damage case, "the burden of proof should not shift to the defending party to prove the cost to repair unreasonable, or not reasonably related to the difference between the property's before and after fair market value." Hann v. State, 447 N.E.2d 1144, 1147-48 (Ind.Ct. App.1983). It appears that Wiese-GMC is consistent with this holding. See Wiese-GMC, 626 N.E.2d at 600
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