Gunville v. United States

Decision Date04 December 2013
Docket NumberNo. CIV 11–3022–RAL.,CIV 11–3022–RAL.
Citation985 F.Supp.2d 1101
PartiesWilliam GUNVILLE, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of South Dakota

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Robert B. Anderson, May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson, Pierre, SD, for Plaintiff.

Jan L. Holmgren, U.S. Attorney's Office, Sioux Falls, SD, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ROBERTO A. LANGE, District Judge.

Plaintiff William Gunville (Gunville) brought this negligence action against Defendant United States of America (“the Government”) under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346, to recover damages arising from a slip and fall accident that occurred at the Indian Health Service (“IHS”) hospital in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Doc. 1. The Government filed a motion for summary judgment, Doc. 15, which Gunville opposed, Doc. 20. Because there are no genuine issues of material fact and the Government is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, this Court grants the Government's motion for summary judgment.

I. Facts

This Court takes the facts in the light most favorable to Gunville, as the non-moving party, and draws the facts primarily from Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's Statement of Material Facts, Doc. 19, and Plaintiff's Statement of Material Facts, Doc. 21. Gunville's slip-and-fall accident occurred on October 9, 2009, outside the old IHS hospital in Eagle Butte.1 Gunville arrived at the IHS hospital at approximately 3:00 p.m. for a medical appointment. He parked in the IHS hospital's parking lot and entered through the hospital's main entrance, which is the most commonly used entrance. Doc. 19 at ¶ 16; Doc. 17–4 at 20–21; Doc. 21 at ¶ 5. The IHS hospital main entrance connects to the hospital parking lot via a sidewalk. Doc. 17–1. This main entrance sidewalk has a curb ramp sloping slightly downward to allow for wheelchair access to and from the IHS hospital parking lot. Doc. 19 at ¶ 24; Doc. 17–1. Perpendicular to the main entrance is a sidewalk that spans the front of the IHS hospital. Doc. 17–2; Doc. 17–3. It had been misting intermittently throughout the day on October 9, 2009, and when Gunville entered the IHS hospital he noticed that the main entrance sidewalk was wet. Doc. 17–4 at 15–17; Doc. 19 at ¶ 17; Doc. 21 at ¶ 4. Unbeknownst to Gunville, the temperature dropped while he was inside the IHS hospital, and the main entrance sidewalk went from wet to icy. Doc. 19 at ¶¶ 10, 21.

Meanwhile, Steve Brown Wolf, an IHS maintenance employee, had been fixing a boiler in an IHS apartment building located across the street from the hospital's main entrance. Doc. 19 at ¶¶ 29, 31. It was not slippery when Brown Wolf entered the apartment building at 1:00 p.m. Doc. 19 at ¶ 32; Doc. 21 at ¶ 10. Brown Wolf left the apartment building at approximately 4:00 p.m. and entered the IHS hospital through the main entrance. Doc. 19 at ¶ 34; Doc. 21 at ¶ 11. He noticed that the main entrance sidewalk had become slippery and, feeling that the situation was “starting to get dangerous,” decided to put ice melt out. Doc. 19 at ¶ 34; Doc. 21 at ¶ 13. When Brown Wolf was asked during his deposition why he put ice melt out, he responded: “Because it had started to get slippery and that's what we do.” Doc. 22–3 at 4. Brown Wolf retrieved some ice melt from the IHS hospital's loading dock and began spreading it on the sidewalk that runs perpendicular to the main entrance. Doc. 17–3; Doc. 19 at ¶ 38; Doc. 22–3 at 2–4. Brown Wolf intended to work his way west to the main entrance sidewalk. Doc. 22–3 at 3. When asked why he chose this route rather than starting to spread ice melt at the main entrance, Brown Wolf explained that the sidewalk running perpendicular to the main entrance was closest to where the ice melt was located and was on his way to the main entrance. Doc. 22–3 at 4–5.

While Brown Wolf was spreading the ice melt, Gunville exited the IHS hospital through the main entrance. Doc. 21 at ¶ 8. As he walked down the main entrance sidewalk, Gunville warned Nancy West, who had just parked her car in the parking lot and was preparing to walk up the main entrance sidewalk, to be careful because it was slippery. Doc. 19 at ¶ 23. At approximately the same time, Gunville saw Brown Wolf to his left spreading ice melt on the sidewalk that is perpendicular to the main entrance sidewalk. Doc. 19 at ¶ 28; Doc. 17–4 at 23. Immediately thereafter, Gunville, while he was walking down the curb ramp, slipped on the ice and fell, landing on his right hip. Doc. 17–4 at 22; Doc. 19 at ¶ 25; Doc. 21 at ¶ 7. When Gunville fell, Brown Wolf was approximately fifty to sixty feet to the east of the curb ramp and had yet to spread ice melt on the main entrance sidewalk or curb ramp. Doc. 19 at ¶ 35; Doc. 21 at ¶ 8. Brown Wolf during his deposition estimated it would have taken him “about a minute” to get from where he began spreading ice melt to the main entrance sidewalk. Doc. 19 at ¶ 39; Doc. 17–6 at 11. According to the administrative claim Gunville filed with IHS, his fall occurred at approximately 4:10 p.m. Doc. 19 at ¶ 7.

Gunville got up unassisted, Doc. 19 at ¶ 41, and drove to pick up his son. Doc. 17–4 at 29. Later that day, Gunville returned to the IHS hospital and went to the emergency room because he was in pain from his fall. Doc. 22–1 at 14. Gunville saw Brown Wolf at the IHS hospital and recalled Brown Wolf telling him: “I was a little late, wasn't I? Are you ok?” Doc. 21 at ¶ 6. Brown Wolf did not recall whether he made any such statement. Doc. 17–6 at 12. The parties' debate over whether any such statement constitutes some admission of fault is as close as the parties come to any genuine issue of material fact.

Gunville in his complaint alleges that the Government acted negligently by failing to use reasonable care in the maintenance of the IHS hospital sidewalks. The Government argues that it is entitled to summary judgment because it cannot be held liable for injuries caused by the natural accumulation of ice and because it exercised reasonable care towards Gunville's safety. In the alternative, the Government argues that Gunville assumed the risk of injury and that Gunville's own contributory negligence should bar him from any recovery. Gunville opposes the Government's motion.

II. Summary Judgment Standard

Under Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper when “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Summary judgment is not “a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather ... an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed ‘to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.’ Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 1). On summary judgment, courts view “the evidence and the inferences that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., 679 F.3d 657, 686 (8th Cir.2012) (quoting Mayer v. Countrywide Home Loans, 647 F.3d 789, 791 (8th Cir.2011)). A party opposing a properly made and supported motion for summary judgment must cite to particular materials in the record supporting the assertion that a fact is genuinely disputed. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1); Gacek v. Owens & Minor Distrib., Inc., 666 F.3d 1142, 1145 (8th Cir.2012).

III. Discussion

As noted earlier, Gunville brings this action under the FTCA. The FTCA waives the Government's sovereign immunity protection and gives federal district courts jurisdiction over FTCA suits for claims for:

injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the scope of his office or employment, under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.

28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1). When the FTCA action arises at an IHS facility within the territory of an American Indian reservation, this Court must apply the substantive law of the state in which the reservation is located. See LaFromboise v. Leavitt, 439 F.3d 792, 796 (8th Cir.2006). Because the IHS hospital in Eagle Butte is located in the state of South Dakota, South Dakota substantive law governs this action.

Gunville was an invitee or business visitor at the IHS hospital for purposes of South Dakota premises liability law. A possessor of land in South Dakota “owes a business visitor or invitee the duty of using ordinary or reasonable care for the benefit of the invitee's safety.” Luke v. Deal, 692 N.W.2d 165, 169 (S.D.2005). This general duty includes a duty to keep the property reasonably safe and a duty to warn invitees of concealed, dangerous conditions known to the possessor of land. Janis v. Nash Finch Co., 780 N.W.2d 497, 501 (S.D.2010). A possessor of land ordinarily is not liable to an invitee for harm caused by a dangerous condition on the land that is known or obvious to the invitee. Luther v. City of Winner, 674 N.W.2d 339, 347 (S.D.2004). The duty a possessor of land in South Dakota owes an invitee mirrors § 343 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, which provides:

A possessor of land is subject to liability for physical harm caused to his invitees by a condition on the land if, but only if, he

(a) knows or by the exercise of reasonable care would discover the condition, and should realize that it involves an unreasonable risk of harm to such invitees, and

(b) should expect that they will not discover or realize the danger, or will fail to protect themselves against it, and

(c) fails to exercise reasonable care to protect them against the danger.

Janis, 780 N.W.2d at 502 (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 343 (1965)).

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2 cases
  • Renville v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Dakota
    • 24 Abril 2017
    ...Reservation, this Court must apply the substantive law of the state in which the reservation is located." Gunville v. United States, 985 F.Supp.2d 1101, 1105 (D.S.D. 2013). In this case, the negligent act or omission alleged by the plaintiff occurred at an Indian Health Services facility wi......
  • Larmon v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Dakota
    • 29 Julio 2016
    ...reasonably safe and a duty to warn invitees of concealed, dangerous conditions known to the possessor of land." Gunville v. United States, 985 F.Supp.2d 1101, 1104 (D.S.D.2013) (citing Janis, 780 N.W.2d at 501 ). "A possessor of land ordinarily is not liable to an invitee for harm caused by......

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