Fields v. Southern Farm Bureau Cas. Ins.

• Decision Date: 19 September 2002
• Docket Number: No. 02-121.,02-121.
• Citation: 350 Ark. 75,87 S.W.3d 224
• Parties: Freddie Mark FIELDS, as Parent and Next Friend of Stephen Hunter Fields, a Minor v. SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

Page 224

87 S.W.3d 224

350 Ark. 75

Freddie Mark FIELDS, as Parent and Next Friend of Stephen Hunter Fields, a Minor v. SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY.

No. 02-121.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

September 19, 2002.

Laws & Murdoch, P.A., by: Hugh R. Laws, Russellville, for appellant.

Hardin, Jesson & Terry, PLC, by: J. Rodney Mills and J. Gregory Magness, Fort Smith, for appellee.

ROBERT L. BROWN, Justice.

This is an appeal by appellant Freddie Mark Fields (Fields), as parent and next friend of Stephen Hunter Fields, a minor (Hunter), from an order of summary judgment granted in favor of appellee Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company (Southern Farm). Fields urges that this court should abrogate the parental-immunity doctrine altogether or, alternatively, create an exception to the doctrine where the motor vehicle accident is covered by liability insurance. We agree that a new exception to the parental-immunity doctrine is warranted under the facts of this case, and we reverse the order of summary judgment and remand the case for further proceedings.

This is a direct-action lawsuit brought by Fields against Southern Farm for payment of benefits under the uninsured motorist provision of Fields's motor vehicle liability insurance policy. The dispute centers on the injuries to Hunter. Hunter's mother, Cheryl D. Fields (Cheryl), and Fields had been married and were divorced in April 1996. Following the divorce, the parents had joint custody of Hunter at all times relevant to this case.

On January 10, 1997, Hunter was riding in an automobile with his mother when they were injured in a single-car accident. According to the motor vehicle accident report, Cheryl lost control of her 1990 Ford Van during heavy snowfall while traveling westbound on Interstate 40 just outside of Russellville. Her van spun counter-clockwise once, went off the road and into the median, and tumbled down a steep embankment, rolling three times before coming to rest.

According to the complaint, Hunter was thrown from the vehicle and severely injured. He suffered a broken right femur and numerous bruises and contusions over his entire body. As a result of the accident, he now suffers from "residual leg length discrepancy," which presumably means that his right leg after the accident was shorter than his left leg. He suffered extreme pain throughout his recovery, according to the complaint, including nightmares and restlessness.

It is undisputed that Cheryl was driving her van negligently at the time of her accident. Also, when the accident occurred, she had no liability insurance on her van. Fields had a motor vehicle insurance policy with Southern Farm, which included a standard uninsured motorist coverage endorsement, with bodily injury limits of $25,000 per person and a medical benefit of $5,000. The endorsement included coverage for members of Fields's family residing in his household, which meant that Hunter was covered. On June 7, 2001, Fields sued Southern Farm in a direct action for uninsured motorist coverage for Hunter's injuries, which resulted from Cheryl's negligent driving. He prayed for damages of $30,000 for his medical injuries and for pain and suffering. As Exhibit A to his complaint, Fields attached Southern Farm's uninsured motorist endorsement to his automobile liability insurance policy. Southern Farm answered and denied liability. The insurer then moved for summary judgment based on the parental-immunity doctrine. The insurer contended in its supporting brief that because Hunter was not "legally entitled to collect" damages from his mother, the uninsured driver, Southern Farm was not obligated to pay under the policy. On January 10, 2002, the trial court entered an order granting summary judgment to Southern Farm based on parental immunity.

I. Parental Immunity

Fields now appeals on behalf of Hunter and argues that the parental-immunity doctrine should be abrogated in toto or rendered inapplicable to direct-action lawsuits where motor vehicle liability coverage provides uninsured motorist benefits to a child for the negligent acts of a parent. We begin our analysis by referencing the appropriate standard of review to be applied for an appeal from an order of summary judgment:

We have repeatedly held that summary judgment is to be granted by a trial court only when it is clear that there are no genuine issues of material fact to be litigated, and the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. George v. Jefferson Hosp. Ass'n, Inc., 337 Ark. 206, 987 S.W.2d 710 (1999); Pugh v. Griggs, 327 Ark. 577, 940 S.W.2d 445 (1997). Once the moving party has established a prima facie entitlement to summary judgment, the opposing party must meet proof with proof and demonstrate the existence of a material issue of fact. Id. On appellate review, we determine if summary judgment was appropriate based on whether the evidentiary items presented by the moving party in support of its motion leave a material fact unanswered. Id. This court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the party against whom the motion was filed, resolving all doubts and inferences against the moving party. Adams v. Arthur, 333 Ark. 53, 969 S.W.2d 598 (1998); Pugh, 327 Ark. 577, 940 S.W.2d 445. Our review is not limited to the pleadings, as we also focus on the affidavits and other documents filed by the parties. Wallace v. Broyles, 331 Ark. 58, 961 S.W.2d 712 (1998); Angle v. Alexander, 328 Ark. 714, 945 S.W.2d 933 (1997). After reviewing undisputed facts, summary judgment should be denied if, under the evidence, reasonable men might reach different conclusions from those undisputed facts. George 337 Ark. 206, 987 S.W.2d 710.

Worth v. City of Rogers, 341 Ark. 12, 20, 14 S.W.3d 471, 475 (2000). See also Ark. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2).

Both parties agree that under current law, Hunter's complaint would be barred because Cheryl negligently caused his in juries, and the parental-immunity doctrine bars suits by children for the negligence of their parents. Nevertheless, in 1999, this court stated that it planned to reexamine the parental-immunity doctrine, when the issue was appropriately developed. Spears v. Spears, 339 Ark. 162, 3 S.W.3d 691 (1999). Fields argues that in Spears, this court refused to entertain an argument to abolish the parental-immunity doctrine only because the appellant had failed to present an adequate argument on appeal. We did note in Spears that the appellant argued "in conclusory fashion, that thirty states have allowed suits against parents involving automobile accidents but cites no caselaw to support the conclusion and otherwise provides us with a paucity of cases to warrant changing our common law." Spears, 339 Ark. at 165-166, 3 S.W.3d at 693-694. Noting that "[w]e do not overrule our common law cavalierly or without giving considerable thought to the change," this court refused to consider the appellant's argument to do away with parental immunity. Id. at 166, 3 S.W.3d at 693-694. Finally, we observed in Spears that the appellant had failed to plead insurance coverage in the trial court which rendered this court unable to consider the issue on an appeal from a judgment on the pleadings. Id.

Fields now urges that he has met the standard we set out in Spears by specifically pleading liability insurance and by bolstering his argument with supporting authorities. Specifically, he points to the decline of the parental-immunity doctrine throughout the country and cites us to case authority from a variety of jurisdictions. He further emphasizes that the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 895G supports the complete abrogation of the doctrine, and he argues that the policies underlying the doctrine — family harmony, maintenance of parental discipline, the potential for fraud, and the adequacy of criminal sanctions to punish child abuse — are no longer sufficient to support the doctrine.

Southern Farm counters these assertions with three principal arguments: (1) the doctrine of stare decisis requires adherence to the parental-immunity doctrine; (2) the public policies underlying the parental-immunity doctrine are still as valid as they were in 1891 when the doctrine had its genesis in Mississippi;¹ and (3) the separation of powers dictates that this court defer to the General Assembly in fashioning exceptions or abolishing a doctrine that has been a part of Arkansas common law for over sixty years.

The parental-immunity doctrine was created judicially in this state in the case of Rambo v. Rambo, 195 Ark. 832, 114 S.W.2d 468 (1938). In that case, we held that "an unemancipated minor may not maintain an action for an involuntary tort against his parent in this state." Id. at 837, 114 S.W.2d at 470. The policy reasons cited by this court in support of the doctrine were the State's interest in maintaining family peace and harmony, the adequacy of criminal sanctions to punish child abuse, and the upholding of parental authority. Id. at 834-836, 114 S.W.2d at 469-470. This court further underscored the lack of statutory authority for an unemancipated minor to maintain an action for an involuntary tort against a parent. Id. at 836-837, 114 S.W.2d at 470. The fact that the parent carried liability coverage was not sufficient reason to refuse to adopt the rule, according to the Rambo court.

A year after handing down Rambo, this court refused to apply the parental-immunity doctrine to a case where an adoptive father poisoned his adopted son. Brown v. Cole, 198 Ark. 417, 420, 129 S.W.2d 245, 247 (1939) ("[w]e are not willing to extend the doctrine [of parental immunity] so as to prevent an adopted child from bringing suit against his adoptive father for a voluntary tort committed upon him by his adoptive father."). The Court explained that the reason for adopting the parental-immunity doctrine was to prevent strife among family members, who were "bound by the same blood and natural ties of affection." Id. at...