Molinari v. Tuskegee University

• Decision Date: 20 September 2004
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:03cv1020-T.
• Citation: 339 F.Supp.2d 1293
• Parties: Monica MOLINARI, Plaintiff, v. TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY and Jeannine Bellamy, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

339 F.Supp.2d 1293

Monica MOLINARI, Plaintiff, v. TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY and Jeannine Bellamy, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 3:03cv1020-T.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Northern Division.

September 20, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James Edwin Cox, Auburn, AL, for Plaintiff.

Thomas Cowin Knowles, Ball Ball Matthews & Novak PA, Montgomery, AL, for Defendants.

OPINION

MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Monica Molinari filed this personal-injury lawsuit against defendants Tuskegee University and Jeannine Bellamy, a professor in Tuskegee's College of Veterinary Medicine. Molinari claims that, while she was enrolled in the Veterinary Medicine College, Tuskegee and Bellamy negligently and wantonly allowed a cow owned by Tuskegee to kick her. Molinari further claims that the university negligently supervised Bellamy and willfully failed to provide timely and adequate medical treatment after Molinari was kicked. Jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1332 (diversity). This case is before the court on Tuskegee and Bellamy's motion for summary judgment. For the reasons discussed below, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. SUMMARY-JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the party seeking summary judgment must first inform the court of the basis for the motion, and the burden then shifts to the non-moving party to demonstrate why summary judgment would not be proper. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); see also Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115-17 (11th Cir.1993) (discussing burden-shifting under Rule 56). The non-moving party must affirmatively set forth specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial and may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials in the pleadings. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

The court's role at the summary-judgment stage is not to weigh the evidence or to determine the truth of the matter, but rather to determine only whether a genuine issue exists for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In doing so, the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Viewed in the light most favorable to Molinari, the facts are as follows. In the fall of 2001, Tuskegee owned a herd of cattle that it used for teaching and demonstrative purposes in its College of Veterinary Medicine. The university also owned cattle-handling equipment such as stanchions (metal rods that keep adjacently placed cows separated),¹ head hatches (metal device placed around a cow's head to limit its movement),² and a hydraulic chute (metal holding device that lifts to enable the user to perform surgical procedures on the cow while it is in an upright position).

In October 2001, Molinari was a graduate student enrolled in Tuskegee's College of Veterinary Medicine. As part of her coursework, she was a member of a student surgical group instructed by Bellamy. On the morning of October 10, Bellamy administered sedatives to five cows that were selected for the day's surgical lab exercises. Afterwards, Bellamy had each cow placed in a stanchion with its head in a head hatch; no other physical restraints were used.³

Later that afternoon, Molinari's surgical group entered the surgical lab area and was allotted a cow on which to perform the assigned surgical procedure. Shortly after class began, Bellamy was called to Molinari's group because the assigned cow was resisting the surgical procedure; Bellamy administered a second dose of sedatives to the cow. Sometime thereafter, Bellamy was again called to Molinari's surgical group to aid a student who was having trouble giving the cow an injection. On a third occasion, Bellamy was called to Molinari's group because the cow was again resisting the procedure; Bellamy performed a `tail crank' (that is, the flipping of the cow's tail onto its back to encourage the cow to stand still) to calm the cow down.⁴ While performing the tail crank, Bellamy noticed that the cow had previously suffered a spinal fracture. Bellamy instructed the students in the group not to perform the surgical procedure at the cow's spinal level; she demonstrated a modified surgical procedure and departed to supervise other students in the class. Later, while attempting to perform the assigned surgical exercise, Molinari was kicked by the cow.⁵

III. DISCUSSION

In their summary-judgment motion, Tuskegee and Bellamy raise two groups of arguments. First, with regard to Molinari's negligence and wantonness claims against both Tuskegee and Bellamy, the university and Bellamy argue that they are not liable because: (1) Molinari has failed to present substantial evidence of negligent or wanton misconduct; and (2) Molinari assumed the risk that she might be injured when she attempted to perform the surgical procedure. Second, with regard to Molinari's negligent-supervision and wilful-failure-to-provide-medical-treatment claims against Tuskegee exclusively, the university argues that it is not liable because: (1) Molinari has failed to present substantial evidence that the university negligently supervised Bellamy; and (2) the university had no legal duty to provide Molinari with medical treatment after she was kicked, or, assuming it had, Molinari has failed to present substantial evidence that the university wilfully failed to provide medical treatment. The court will address each of these groups of arguments in turn.

A. Molinari's Claims against Tuskegee and Bellamy

1. Negligence and Wantonness Claims

Tuskegee and Bellamy argue that Molinari has failed to present substantial evidence that they acted negligently or wantonly. Under Alabama law, a plaintiff who is injured by a domesticated animal may recover from the animal's owner if (1) the owner had prior knowledge of the animal's vicious propensity and (2) the owner negligently or wantonly failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm to the plaintiff.⁶ Humphries v. Rice, 600 So.2d 975, 978 (Ala.1992).

With regard to the first element (an owner's knowledge of the animal's vicious propensity), a plaintiff is not required to present evidence that the owner actually knew, prior to the plaintiff's injury, that the animal was dangerous or had previously committed dangerous acts, Humphries, 600 So.2d at 977; instead, while actual knowledge will, of course, suffice, constructive knowledge is sufficient as well. "[A]ll that the law requires... is knowledge of facts from which [the owner] can infer that the animal is likely to commit an act of the kind complained of." Id. For example, an owner is "charged with knowledge of the propensities of the breed of animal he or she owns." Id. at 978. Thus, "evidence of a domestic animal's `vicious traits' is unnecessary when that animal has acted in accordance with its natural tendencies. Such action is reasonably foreseeable and, therefore, requires preventive control of the animal." Id. (quoting Coley v. Hendrix, 508 So.2d 216, 217 (Ala.1987) (Jones, J., dissenting)).

With regard to the second element (the owner's negligent or wanton failure to prevent the plaintiff's harm), it is true that the degree of care owed is not etched in absolute terms but "depend[s] upon the kind and character of the particular animal concerned, the circumstances in which it is placed, and the purposes for which it is employed or kept." Humphries, 600 So.2d at 978 (citation omitted). Generally, if the claim is for negligence, then the plaintiff must present evidence that the owner failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent the plaintiff's foreseeable harm. Id. By contrast, wanton misconduct is a more egregious tort; the plaintiff must present evidence that the owner consciously disregarded the safety or rights of others. 1975 Ala.Code § 6-11-20(b)(3); see also Alfa Mut. Ins. Co. v. Roush, 723 So.2d 1250, 1256 (Ala.1998) ("[T]he statutory definition of wantonness [i]s followed by this Court.").

There is substantial evidence that Tuskegee and Bellamy knew the cow possessed a vicious propensity but negligently or wantonly failed to exercise due care. First, Bellamy's own affidavit provides evidence of actual knowledge. On the day that she was kicked, students in Molinari's surgical group summoned Bellamy on three separate occasions because the cow was moving about and resisting the surgical procedure, and Bellamy twice attempted to sedate the cow. Even after the second dose of sedatives, Bellamy performed a tail crank in another attempt to calm the cow down. Because this case is before the court on Tuskegee and Bellamy's motion for summary, all reasonable inferences are taken in favor of Molinari. Evidence presented to the court supports the conclusion that, over the course of the students' repeated calls for assistance with the cow, Bellamy already had "knowledge of facts from which [s]he c[ould] infer that the animal [wa]s likely to commit an act of the kind complained of." Humphries, 600 So.2d at 977.

Nevertheless, Tuskegee and Bellamy argue that neither Bellamy nor other university employees ever observed the cow acting aggressively before Molinari was kicked.⁷ This argument is particularly perplexing in light of Bellamy's affidavit describing the various methods that she used to calm the cow down before Molinari tried to perform the procedure.⁸ However, even if the court believed that the evidence...