Jameson v. Hawthorne
Decision Date | 12 January 1994 |
Docket Number | No. 92-571-A,92-571-A |
Citation | 635 A.2d 1167 |
Parties | Everett R. JAMESON et al. v. Dwain L. HAWTHORNE et al. ppeal. |
Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This matter came before this court pursuant to an order requiring all the parties to appear and show cause why this appeal should not be summarily decided. The plaintiffs appeal from a Superior Court judgment on a directed verdict entered in favor of Dwain L. Hawthorne, in his capacity as director of finance for the city of Newport (Newport). They also appeal from a Superior Court judgment on a jury verdict in favor of the two remaining defendants, William Lincourt (Lincourt) and the Edward King House Senior Center (senior center) and the denial of their motion for a new trial.
On the morning of June 14, 1986, six-year-old Stephen Jameson (Jameson) and his mother went to a bazaar at the senior center, which is located on city-owned property in Newport. Jameson was waiting to play a "bean-toss" game in the senior center's side yard when the game suddenly fell on him. His left leg was fractured and required surgery. He was later placed for approximately six weeks in a cast that started at his waist and extended down half of his right leg and his entire left leg. He had to use crutches and required several months of gait-remediation instruction and physical therapy.
Lincourt, who had built the game years before the accident, testified that the game consisted of a four-foot by eight-foot sheet of plywood 5/8 inches thick, with uprights secured by a magnet and a hinge. Six holes were cut out of the sheet for players to throw bean bags through and hit a target. At the back of the plywood sheet two pieces of wood connected by a crosspiece allowed the board to be set up like a tripod. On the day of the bazaar, Lincourt also placed a four-foot by eight-foot sheet of 3/8 inch plywood on the back of the frame. This was the first occasion on which he used the plywood board on the back of the game.
Lincourt speculated in his testimony that the wind had caused the game to fall. Jameson's mother also testified that it appeared that a gust of wind had blown the game down.
Mildred and Everett Jameson filed a complaint in June 1988 on their behalf and as next friends and guardians on behalf of their minor son Jameson and his minor brother, Douglas, in connection with this accident. They alleged that Jameson sustained injuries as a proximate result of the negligence of several defendants in constructing and maintaining the bean-toss game at the senior center's bazaar. The plaintiffs sought damages for personal injuries that Jameson suffered as a result of the accident, as well as loss of society and companionship on behalf of Mildred, Everett, and Douglas Jameson.
The jury trial took place in the fall of 1992. After plaintiffs had rested their case, the trial justice granted Newport's motion for a directed verdict and dismissed the claims of Mildred and Everett Jameson for loss of society and companionship. Also at that time, plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew their claim for loss of society and companionship on behalf of Douglas Jameson. With regard to the remaining claim for damages for personal injuries, the jury found for Lincourt and the senior center. The trial justice subsequently denied plaintiffs' motion for a new trial.
The plaintiffs raise several issues on appeal. They claim that the trial justice erred by (1) excluding certain expert-opinion testimony; (2) granting Newport's motion for a directed verdict; (3) refusing to admit a memorandum by the Newport finance director into evidence as an admission under Rule 801(d)(2) of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence; (4) granting a directed verdict with regard to the claims for loss of society and companionship of Jameson's parents; (5) refusing to allow into evidence the affidavit of a psychologist under G.L.1956 (1985 Reenactment) § 9-19-27; and (6) refusing to grant their motion for a new trial.
The plaintiffs' first argument is that the trial justice erred in excluding certain opinion testimony of their expert witness, Professor Marc Richman (Richman). Richman was qualified without objection as an expert in the field of mechanical engineering, particularly in the laws of physics and the study of statics, which is the application of the laws of physics to rigid bodies. In his testimony, Richman explained certain general principles of physics and wind force. He described how certain variables would make it more or less likely that the game would be toppled, such as if the wind blew from different directions, if the wind struck different parts of the game, and whether the stability of the game depended on the surface on which it was set up. Counsel for Lincourt and the senior center both objected to the following query by counsel for plaintiffs, which question referred to the assembly of the game at trial:
"PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL: Now, given your experience and background, chemical engineering field, mechanical engineering field, laws of physics, study of statics, would this be an alternate way to set this game up so that it would be more stable?"
The trial justice sustained the objections before and after plaintiffs had made an offer of proof that Richman would have testified that two simple, inexpensive remedies could have made the game more stable. She also stated that Richman's answer to the question should be disregarded. The trial justice noted that, in her understanding of the theory of the case, the development and the construction of the game were "not the issue." Her understanding was that this was a premises-liability case.
The plaintiffs argue that the trial justice committed error by "not allowing Professor Richman to testify as to how the game could have been erected on a windy day to allow it to be reasonably safe for children to play." The plaintiffs also contend that Richman's testimony "would have aided the jurors in their search for truth."
The defendant Lincourt argues that, although the game could have been made more stable in myriad ways, "[t]he question to be decided by the jury was not whether it was an engineering masterpiece, but whether it met 'reasonable man' standards of safety in its concept and construction." He emphasizes that the game is not a commercial product but rather a homemade game for which no specific engineering standards exist. The defendant senior center claims that the evidence that plaintiffs sought to admit was not material or relevant to the question before the jury, which was whether the senior center exercised reasonable care in the way in which the game was erected and operated. The senior center also joins in Lincourt's arguments.
Rule 401 of the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence defines "relevant evidence" as "evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence." Rule 402 provides that all relevant evidence is admissible, with certain exceptions, and that irrelevant evidence is inadmissible. Rule 403 states that relevant evidence "may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice" or such considerations as confusion of the issues, misleading the jury, and undue delay, among others.
This court has stated:
State v. Squillante, 622 A.2d 474, 482 (R.I.1993).
We have held that the determination whether evidence is relevant is within the sound discretion of the trial justice. Id.; State v. Mora, 618 A.2d 1275, 1279-80 (R.I.1993). The trial justice's "ruling will not constitute reversible error unless it is a prejudicial abuse of discretion." Squillante, 622 A.2d at 482 (quoting State v. Gelinas, 417 A.2d 1381, 1386 (R.I.1980)).
We conclude that the trial justice did not abuse her discretion by refusing to permit Richman to answer the question regarding more stable ways to set up the game. Even if this were a case in which the evidence was clearly relevant, it would not necessarily have been an abuse of discretion to exclude the evidence. This is not, however, a case in which the excluded evidence clearly has probative value. In this case, the record reflects a substantial amount of confusion among counsel for plaintiffs, the trial justice, and counsel for defendants regarding plaintiffs' theories of recovery. During discussions at various points in the trial, plaintiffs stated that this was not a product-liability case and clarified that they were pursuing the following theories: agency, premises liability, and negligent assembly of the game on the day of the incident. The trial justice excluded the evidence based on her interpretation of the theories that plaintiffs presented. Her exclusion of the evidence was not a prejudicial abuse of discretion.
The plaintiffs also argue that the trial justice erred in granting Newport's motion for a directed verdict. At trial, plaintiffs clarified that their claims against Newport were based on two theories of recovery: (1) an agency relationship between Newport and the senior center and (2) premises liability. After a discussion between the trial justice and counsel for plaintiffs regarding the elements of each theory, the trial justice granted Newport's motion for a directed verdict.
The plaintiffs contend that the trial justice erred in...
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