McDowell v. Gillie

• Decision Date: 22 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 20000269.,20000269.
• Citation: 626 N.W.2d 666,2001 ND 91
• Parties: Nicki A. McDOWELL and Charles W. McDowell, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. James GILLIE and Florence Swanson, Defendants and Appellees.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

626 N.W.2d 666

2001 ND 91

Nicki A. McDOWELL and Charles W. McDowell, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. James GILLIE and Florence Swanson, Defendants and Appellees.

No. 20000269.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

May 22, 2001.

Shane D. Peterson (submitted on brief), Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, P.L.L.P., Williston, ND, for plaintiffs and appellants.

Gary R. Wolberg (submitted on brief), Fleck, Mather & Strutz, Bismarck, ND, for defendants and appellees.

KAPSNER, Justice.

[¶ 1] Nicki A. and Charles W. McDowell appealed from a summary judgment dismissing their negligence action against James Gillie and Florence Swanson. We conclude there are genuine issues of material fact whether Gillie and Swanson are entitled to immunity under the Good Samaritan Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 32-03.1, and we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I

[¶ 2] While returning to their home in Manitoba, Canada on February 10, 1996, the McDowells encountered blizzard-like driving conditions as they traveled on Interstate 29 through North Dakota. Falling snow and strong northwest winds caused occasional "white-outs," and Interstate 29 was slippery from ice and compacted snow. As the McDowells neared Buxton in their leased Ford Contour, they saw a semi-tractor and trailer jackknifed in the ditch along the driving lane and stopped to determine whether the truck occupants needed any assistance. While the McDowells' car was stopped, it was struck from behind by a Chevrolet Blazer driven by Bryan Martens. After Charles got out of the car, talked briefly with Martens and exchanged insurance information with him, Charles began walking back to his car and Martens continued on his journey. The McDowell vehicle, which was "banged up" on the passenger side, had been pushed forward between 15 and 20 feet to a point across from the front of the jackknifed semi-tractor and trailer.

[¶ 3] Before Charles got back to his car, a second semi-tractor and trailer, operated by Gillie, who was employed by Swanson, came upon the scene and stopped near Charles. Gillie had a passenger with him whose window was rolled down. The passenger asked "if everything was okay." Charles said they were "fine" and Gillie should move on because "there was no sense making the accident any worse than it already was." Gillie began to leave, but his tractor-trailer slid backwards toward the McDowell vehicle, in which Nicki had remained, and pinned it between Gillie's trailer and the jackknifed semi-tractor and trailer already in the ditch. Charles ran into the ditch to avoid Gillie's truck.

[¶ 4] The McDowells settled with Martens for injuries sustained from the first collision. In September 1998, the McDowells brought this action against Gillie and Swanson seeking to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly suffered from the second accident. After Gillie and Swanson filed a motion for summary judgment, the trial court requested supplemental briefs addressing whether the Good Samaritan Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 32-03.1, barred the McDowells' action. The trial court concluded that, because "Gillie stopped to see if anyone at the accident scene needed help," the McDowells' action was, as a matter of law, barred by the Good Samaritan Act. The McDowells appealed from the summary judgment dismissing their action.

II

[¶ 5] The McDowells argue summary judgment was inappropriately granted in this case. Summary judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 56 is a procedural device for promptly disposing of a lawsuit without trial if, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there are no genuine issues of material fact or conflicting inferences which can reasonably be drawn from undisputed facts, or if the only issues to be resolved are questions of law. Snortland v. State, 2000 ND 162, ¶ 10, 615 N.W.2d 574. A question of fact becomes a question of law only when a reasonable person can draw a single conclusion from the evidence. Spring Creek Ranch, LLC v. Svenberg, 1999 ND 113, ¶ 17, 595 N.W.2d 323.

A

[¶ 6] Under the common law rule, a bystander generally has no duty to provide affirmative aid to an injured person, even if the bystander has the ability to help, unless there exists some relationship between the parties that creates a special responsibility to render assistance not owed to the general public. See Lundy v. Adamar of New Jersey, Inc., 34 F.3d 1173, 1178 (3rd Cir.1994); see also South v. National Railroad Passenger Corp., 290 N.W.2d 819, 837 (N.D.1980)

(holding "a person who knows or has reason to know that his conduct, whether tortious or innocent, has caused harm to another has an affirmative duty to render assistance to prevent further harm"). "[T]he law has persistently refused to recognize the moral obligation of common decency and common humanity, to come to the aid of another human being who is in danger, even though the outcome is to cost him his life." W. Prosser, Law of Torts § 56, at 340 (4th ed.1971) (footnote omitted) ("Prosser"). Furthermore, if one voluntarily undertakes to rescue or render aid to a stranger, the rescuer is liable for any physical harm that results from the failure to exercise reasonable care. See Jackson v. Mercy Health Center, Inc., 864 P.2d 839, 842 (Okla.1993); Alston v. Blythe, 88 Wash.App. 26, 943 P.2d 692, 698 (1997); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 323 (1965). "The result of all this is that the good Samaritan who tries to help may find himself mulcted in damages, while the priest and the Levite who pass by on the other side go on their cheerful way rejoicing." Prosser § 56, at 344. In an attempt to eliminate the perceived inadequacies of the common law rules, all states have enacted some form of Good Samaritan legislation to protect individuals from civil liability for any negligent acts or omissions committed while voluntarily providing emergency aid or assistance. See Annot., Construction and application of "Good Samaritan" statutes, 68 A.L.R.4th 294, 299-300 (1989).

[¶ 7] For many years, North Dakota provided immunity to limited segments of the public for care or services given at the time of an emergency. See, e.g., N.D.C.C. § 23-27-04.1 (exempting from liability persons who provide volunteer prehospital emergency medical services); N.D.C.C. § 32-03-40 (exempting from liability firemen, policemen and peace officers who render emergency care); N.D.C.C. § 32-03-42 (exempting from liability licensed health care service providers who voluntarily provide health care service without compensation for amateur athletes or at amateur athletic events). Only N.D.C.C. § 39-08-04.1 exempted from liability "[a]ny person who is an unpaid volunteer" and who renders emergency care or services, but those services had to be rendered "at or near the scene of an accident, disaster, or other emergency...." In 1987, the Legislature enacted the Good Samaritan Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 32-03.1, to broaden the class of individuals entitled to immunity and to broaden the types of emergencies covered. See Hearing on H.B. 1631 Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 50th N.D. Legis. Sess. (March 16, 1987) (testimony of Rep. Janet Wentz).

[¶ 8] North Dakota's Good Samaritan Act bars actions against persons who render aid or assistance to others under certain circumstances:

No person, or the person's employer, subject to the exceptions in sections 32-03.1-03, 32-03.1-04, and 32-03.1-08, who renders aid or assistance necessary or helpful in the circumstances to other persons who have been injured or are ill as the result of an accident or illness, or any mechanical, external or organic trauma, may be named as a defendant or held liable in any personal injury civil action by any party in this state for acts or omissions arising out of a situation in which emergency aid or assistance is rendered, unless it is plainly alleged in the complaint and later proven that such person's acts or omissions constituted intentional misconduct or gross negligence.

N.D.C.C. § 32-03.1-02. "Aid or assistance necessary or helpful in the circumstances" is statutorily defined to mean:

any actions which the aider reasonably believed were required to prevent death or serious permanent injury, disability or handicap, or reasonably believed would benefit the injured or ill person, depending upon the aider's perception of the nature and severity of the injury or illness and the total emergency situation, and that the aider reasonably believed the aider could successfully undertake.

N.D.C.C. § 32-03.1-01(1). "Gross negligence" is defined to mean "acts or omissions falling short of intentional misconduct which nevertheless show a failure to exercise even slight care or any conscious interest in the predictable consequences of the acts or omissions." N.D.C.C. § 32-03.1-01(4).

[¶ 9] The McDowells argue the trial court erred because merely stopping at the scene of an automobile accident and inquiring whether any assistance is needed does not, as a matter of law, constitute rendering aid or assistance within the meaning of the Good Samaritan Act. The McDowells also argue in the alternative that summary judgment was improper because it is unclear what Gillie's intentions were when he stopped the semi-tractor and trailer on the highway.

B

[¶ 10] We reject the McDowells' contention that the act of stopping on the side of the road at the scene of an accident to inquire whether any assistance is required cannot constitute rendering aid or assistance under the Good Samaritan Act.

[¶ 11] The interpretation of a statute is a question of law, fully reviewable on appeal. Berg v. Berg, 2000 ND 36, ¶ 24, 606 N.W.2d 895. Our primary objective in construing a statute is to ascertain the intent of the Legislature by looking at the language of the statute itself and giving it its plain, ordinary, and commonly understood meaning. State ex rel. Heitkamp v. Family Life Services, Inc., 2000 ND 166, ¶ 7, 616 N.W.2d 826. Although courts may resort to extrinsic aids to interpret a...