Harrison v. Purdy Bros. Trucking Co., Inc.
| Decision Date | 03 December 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-1740.,02-1740. |
| Citation | 312 F.3d 346 |
| Parties | Kaytina HARRISON, Appellee, v. PURDY BROTHERS TRUCKING COMPANY, INC.; David Carey, Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Douglas R. Richmond, argued, Kansas City, MO (Patrick Kenny and David A. Jermann, on the brief), for appellant.
Walter Bley, argued, Columbia, MO (Mark D. Pfeiffer, on the brief), for appellee.
Before BYE, BEAM, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.
Purdy Brothers Trucking, Inc., and its driver, David Carey (collectively Purdy Brothers), appeal from the district court's1 denial of their motion for a new trial following a $3 million verdict in favor of Kaytina Harrison for the wrongful death of her son, Ryan. The case was tried to a jury on the issue of damages only. Purdy Brothers contends the district court abused its discretion by admitting an autopsy report, Harrison's counsel made prejudicial comments during closing arguments, and the district court erred in awarding prejudgment interest. We affirm.
When Purdy Brothers admitted liability on the first morning of trial following voir dire, the parties agreed to a stipulated set of facts for the district court to read to the jury. The stipulation serves equally well for our purposes in setting forth the factual background of this case, so we repeat it here:
This case is the result of a collision between an automobile and a tractor-trailer on June 30, 2000, in Columbia, Missouri, in which plaintiff Kaytina Harrison's 8½ year-old son, Ryan Thompson, was killed. Ms. Harrison has brought this claim against David Carey and Purdy Brothers Truckling [sic] Company for her son's wrongful death.
Mr. Carey and Purdy Brothers have admitted they are liable for Ryan Thompson's death. You will be asked to determine whether Ms. Harrison is entitled to money damages for her son's death in accordance with instructions that I will read to you later and, if so, how much.
So that you may have some understanding of the facts surrounding Ryan Thompson's death and the wreck that caused it, I am going to give you some information that may aid you in your deliberations.
This wreck occurred at 6:45 a.m. on Friday, June 30, 2000. The day was clear and the road was dry at the time of the accident. Ryan Thompson was on his way home after spending the night with his father, Rob Thompson. Ryan was lying down in the back seat of Mr. Thompson's Chevrolet Malibu. Their car was stopped on the westbound ramp from I-70 at the Highway 63 connector. Their car was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer rig being driven by David Carey in the course and scope of his employment with Purdy Brothers. Ryan Thompson died in the collision. Mr. Carey was traveling to Columbia from St. Louis. When he approached the exit on which the accident occurred, he was going approximately 60-65 m.p.h. The speed limit on I-70 at that location is 60 m.p.h.
The defendants admit that David Carey was negligent in the operation of the Purdy Brothers truck in that he drove at an excessive speed for the conditions and that he caused or allowed the tractor trailer to collide with the car in which Ryan Thompson was a passenger, and that Mr. Carey's negligence caused Ryan Thompson's death.
None of the parties involved in the wreck were on drugs or under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.
After the accident, Kaytina Harrison hired counsel to pursue a claim on her behalf. On August 18, 2000, her counsel wrote to Purdy Brother's liability carrier, Empire Fire & Marine Insurance Company, offering to settle for $2,499,999. Counsel sent the offer by certified mail to trigger Missouri's prejudgment interest statute, which allows for an award of prejudgment interest "if a claimant has made a demand for payment or an offer of settlement of a claim, to the party, parties or their representatives and the amount of the judgment or order exceeds the demand for payment or offer of settlement [when the offer is] made in writing and sent by certified mail." Mo.Rev.Stat. § 408.040 (emphasis added). Under the terms of the policy, Purdy Brothers gave Empire authority to
When the parties were unable to settle, Harrison brought suit and the case proceeded to trial. Because Purdy Brothers admitted liability, the trial focused on Ryan's personality and activities. A total of seven witnesses took the stand — Ryan's little league coach, his second grade teacher, his best friend's mother, both of his grandmothers and mother and stepfather — all testifying about Ryan's life and his relationship with his mother.
The district court excluded most evidence related to the accident, including all photos of Ryan's body, a video re-enactment of the accident, testimony from witnesses who were on the scene immediately following the accident, and the fact that Carey had pleaded guilty to felony manslaughter for causing the wreck. The district court also excluded all photos of the accident scene, with the exception of three which Purdy Brothers had stipulated were admissible — two aerial photos showing the intersection, and a single photo showing the accident scene itself. The accident scene photo showed the crumpled and severely-burned shell of the Thompson vehicle, which caught fire as a result of the collision. The jury already knew about the fire because during voir dire, before Purdy Brothers admitted liability, the district court told them
Over Purdy Brothers's objection, the district court also admitted a two-page report of Ryan's autopsy. The report contained a brief description of the condition of the body:
The head hair is burned away. The irides are burned away. The nose, ears and mouth are burned away. The neck, chest, back and abdomen are unremarkable except for the thermal injuries to the back and chest.
There is significant thermal injury to the head and upper trunk, especially the back. There are open fractures of the skull and lacerations to the brain. There is skin slippage to the trunk and extremities due to the diesel fuel.
During closing argument, Purdy Brothers objected to three statements made by Harrison's counsel. Because the district court had informed the jury during voir dire that the case would take all week to try, Harrison's counsel began his closing argument by explaining why it took just a day and a half:
We came here to spend a week with you and we told you that in — at the beginning of the case, and you can see in all this stuff they've brought along, we came for a week. And then Mr. Gotfredson told you in opening statement, he said we've come here today and said we are responsible for this tragedy, and that's true. They did come Monday and say, while you were out in the hall, well, yeah, we're responsible. We caused the death of Ryan Thompson. And that's good that they did that. But that doesn't make the loss to Kaytina Harrison any less. The fact that the defendants in the case finally `fessed up', that doesn't make ...
Purdy Brothers then objected, and the district court immediately sustained the objection. Harrison's counsel continued by explaining the context of his comments, with no objection from Purdy Brothers:
That doesn't make Kaytina's loss any less. So, why do the defendants then confess liability at the eleventh hour? I don't know that. I don't know that. But they did and so we're here Tuesday at noon and the case is going to you instead of Thursday or Friday, so I guess that part is good.
Next, Purdy Brothers objected to a reference Harrison's counsel made to the speed at which Carey drove his truck on the off ramp:
And, by the way, in Mr. Richmond's opening statement, he talks about something, well, never did Mr. Carey think that going 65 in a 60 mile per hour zone would end up like this. But we all know that this wreck didn't happen on the interstate where the speed limit is 60. This wreck happened on the off ramp, at the stop sign.
Purdy Brothers objected on the grounds that "he's arguing evidence that's not in the case." The district court overruled the objection.
Finally, Purdy Brothers objected when Harrison's counsel argued the defendants had not been "willing to do" justice:
We need a fair and just closure for this tragedy, justice for the death of Ryan Thompson, the justice that is required by the Court's instruction No. 7 — Instruction No. 7 in your pamphlet — in your booklet that the judge gave you, you must award, not you can award if you want to, you must [award] Plaintiff Kaytina Harrison such sum as you believe will fairly and justly compensate her for the loss of her son. That justice comes only from your verdict, from your decision, because these defendants have not been willing to do that.
Purdy Brothers requested a bench conference, and objected on the grounds counsel had referred to pre-trial settlement discussions. The court sustained the objection, and told the jury:
I'm going to instruct you to disregard counsel's last statement. What defendants were or were not willing to do before the start of the trial is really irrelevant to this stage. What is relevant at this proceeding is the stipulation and the evidence you've received and anything concerning what anybody did or did not do that wasn't presented in this courtroom, that wasn't in the evidence in this case is irrelevant to the case and must not be considered by you.
Harrison's counsel ultimately suggested an award of $8.5 million. Purdy Brothers suggested an award of $500,000 to $1 million. The jury returned a verdict of $3 million.
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Summation
...forming intent after the contract had been signed would be breach of contract, not fraud. Harrison v. Purdy Bros. Trucking Co., Inc. , 312 F.3d 346, 353 (8th Cir. 2002). In a wrongful death suit brought by mother of a child who was killed in an accident caused by a trucking company, plainti......