Holbrook v. Davidson
| Decision Date | 15 January 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 2:13cv00027 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia |
| Parties | HAROLD B. HOLBROOK, Administrator Of the Estate of Monetta Faye Holbrook, Deceased Plaintiff v. DEBORAH S. DAVIDSON, Defendant |
By: PAMELA MEADE SARGENT
The plaintiff, Harold B. Holbrook, brings this wrongful death action on behalf of the estate of his deceased mother, Monetta Faye Holbrook. This matter is before the undersigned on the Defendant's Motion For Summary Judgment, (Docket Item No. 18), ("Motion"). The plaintiff has responded to the Motion, and the defendant has filed a reply. This matter is now ripe for disposition. Plaintiff has requested a hearing on the Motion. However, after reviewing the Motion, the plaintiff's Brief in Opposition and the defendant's Reply, and the arguments and representations contained therein, the court finds that the matter can be resolved without the benefit of a hearing. A jury trial in this matter is scheduled for February 4 and 5, 2014, before the undersigned. The action, including the Motion, is before the undersigned magistrate judge upon transfer pursuant to the consent of the parties under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1). Based on the arguments and representations presented, and for the reasons stated in this Memorandum Opinion, the Motion will be granted.
The parties are in agreement regarding the facts underlying this wrongful death action. In the late summer or early fall of 2007, Monetta Holbrook, ("Holbrook"), began working as a caretaker for Kathleen Seals, ("Seals"), at Seals's home in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Seals lived with her daughter, Deborah Davidson, ("Deborah," "Davidson" or "defendant"), and Davidson's husband, Thomas Davidson, ("Thomas"), (collectively "Davidsons"), in the home owned by Deborah. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 2). Holbrook's duties as a caretaker consisted of caring for Seals, sitting with her, assisting her with using the bathroom and cooking her meals. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 3). Although Holbrook was not obligated to clean the home, she sometimes did so. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 10). The home consists of one main living level. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 3-4). The home also has an attic, which is accessible by a set of pull-down stairs, as well as a basement, accessible by a stairway from the kitchen, as well as by an outside entrance. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 4). At the top of the basement stairs is a landing with a vegetable bin. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 7-8). There were four small dogs also living in the home, which roamed freely throughout. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 10).
The Davidsons kept extra grocery items, like butter and soft drinks, in a refrigerator in the basement. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 13, 16; Docket Item No. 18-4 at 4). They made a habit of telling Holbrook that they would bring up anything from the basement that she might need during the day. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 4; Docket Item No. 18-4 at 4). For instance, if the kitchen refrigerator ran out of butter or soft drinks, Deborah asked Holbrook to inform her so that she orThomas could bring the items up from the basement. Deborah warned Holbrook not to go down to the basement due to the steep stairs from the first day that Holbrook worked in the home. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 4, 15; Docket Item No. 18-4 at 9). However, despite such warning, Holbrook used the stairs on several occasions to retrieve items from the basement. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 4). When the Davidsons saw this occur, they repeated their warning to Holbrook not to use the stairs. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 4). In any event, Thomas was at the home the vast majority of the time to assist Holbrook and could retrieve anything from the basement that she might need. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 4).
On the morning of May 19, 2010, Holbrook arrived at the home at approximately 8:00 a.m. She spoke with both Deborah and Thomas, complaining of feeling dizzy and lightheaded. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 15; Docket Item No. 18-4 at 3). She attributed the dizziness to her blood pressure. (Docket Item No. 184 at 3). Holbrook also complained of a pain in her arm and weakness in her knees. (Docket Item No. 18-4 at 3). Deborah went to work that day, and Thomas left the home to mow grass. (Docket Item No. 18-4 at 3). At approximately 2:45 p.m., Christy Jones, ("Jones"), Seals's granddaughter, came to the home to bring Seals some potato salad and to visit Holbrook, who was her aunt. (Docket Item No. 18-1 at 8; Docket Item No. 18-3 at 4). When Jones asked Seals where Holbrook was, Seals stated that she had gone home. (Docket Item No. 18-3 at 4). However, Jones noticed that the basement door was open. When she looked down into the basement, Jones saw Holbrook lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. (Docket Item No. 18-3 at 5). Holbrook was deceased. Jones called emergency services, and Officer W. Hollinger, an Investigator with the Big Stone Gap Police Department, responded to the home. (Docket Item No. 18-3 at 5; Docket Item No.18-5 at 3). Officer Hollinger took photographs of the scene, completed a police report and contacted the medical examiner. (Docket Item No. 18-5 at 3, 5; Docket Item No. 18-6 at 2).
Officer Hollinger was unable to determine whether Holbrook was going up or down the stairs when she fell, nor was he able to determine the cause of the fall. (Docket Item No. 18-5 at 6). Officer Hollinger believes that it is possible that Holbrook's shoe came off, causing her to fall, or that she fell backwards from the top landing while accessing the vegetable bin. (Docket Item No. 18-5 at 7-8). Officer Hollinger stated that he does not find any one possible cause of the accident to be any more probable than any other. (Docket Item No. 18-5 at 9-10). Plaintiff Harold Holbrook and Van Holbrook, Holbrook's other son, similarly do not know what caused their mother to fall. Van Holbrook stated that based upon his conversations with others, he believes that she "slipped and fell on some steps." (Docket Item No. 18-2 at 9).
John Franklin Loehr, III, a Class A general building contractor since approximately 1986, and plaintiff's expert witness, stated in his deposition testimony that he measured the stairway in Davidson's home, took photographs of it and compared it with the International Residential Code, ("Code"). (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 5, 11, 14). Loehr stated that, due to defects in the stairway, it is very difficult to negotiate. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 14). Loehr stated that the basement stairs are defective in three main areas. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 15). First, the treads and risers on the stairs are not to Code, making the stairs steeper and the treads narrower than they should be. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 15). Second, the staircase lacks a handrail, as required by Code. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 17).Finally, the stairs terminate in a manner resulting in a greater than three-eighths of an inch difference between the largest riser and the smallest riser, in violation of Code. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 15). More specifically, Loehr stated that the last wooden tread is 18 and one-half inches off the floor. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 23). He noted that there is a six-inch concrete block between this last wooden tread and the floor, leaving a 10- or 11-inch step. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 23). He stated that the risers should have continued down to the concrete basement floor, and the steps should have continued between seven- and eight-inch risers on down until they met the floor, as required by Code. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 23). Loehr stated that having a bigger step or a smaller step at the bottom is really difficult to negotiate. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 23). Additionally, Loehr stated that the stairway is not fastened very well, and the concrete blocks at the bottom are loose. (Docket Item No. 20-3 at 24).
Dr. Maurice Nida, D.O., the Wise County Medical Examiner, performed a physical examination of Holbrook at Lonesome Pine Hospital. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 5). Dr. Nida concluded that she died as a result of the fall. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 6). More specifically, Dr. Nida stated that Holbrook died from an open skull fracture to the back of the head. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 5). He further stated that the police report noted the presence of a steel pole at the bottom of the stairs. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 5). He stated that Holbrook's injuries were "one hundred percent consistent" with her having struck her head on the pole, resulting in a sudden death. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 6). Dr. Nida stated that, for that reason, he did not perform any further investigation into any potential contributing factors to her fall, such as a heart attack. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 6). Dr. Nida concluded that Holbrook died as the result of a fall, but he could not state the causeof the fall, as he did not witness it. (Docket Item No. 20-4 at 6).
With regard to a motion for summary judgment, the standard of review is well-settled. The court should grant summary judgment only when the pleadings, responses to discovery and the record reveal that "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a); see, e.g., Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 (1986); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87 (1986). A genuine issue of fact exists "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248.
In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the facts and the reasonable inferences to be drawn from the facts in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255; Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587. Thus, the court will view the facts and inferences in the light...
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