Rice v. White

• Decision Date: 23 May 2007
• Docket Number: No. 4-06-0512.,4-06-0512.
• Citation: 874 N.E.2d 132,374 Ill. App.3d 870
• Parties: Katherine RICE, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Angela Willis, Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Shady WHITE, Tanika McCool, and Michelette Hughes, Defendants-Appellants (Marenda Lathan, Defendant, Shady White, Tanika McCool, and Michelette Hughes, Third-Party Plaintiffs, and Meyuntoe Davis, Third-Party Defendant).
• Court: United States Appellate Court of Illinois

874 N.E.2d 132

374 Ill. App.3d 870

Katherine RICE, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Angela Willis, Deceased, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Shady WHITE, Tanika McCool, and Michelette Hughes, Defendants-Appellants (Marenda Lathan, Defendant, Shady White, Tanika McCool, and Michelette Hughes, Third-Party Plaintiffs, and Meyuntoe Davis, Third-Party Defendant).

No. 4-06-0512.

Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District.

May 23, 2007.

Justice MYERSCOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:

On October 25, 2005, a jury entered a verdict in favor of plaintiffs, Katherine Rice, individually and as representative of the estate of her daughter, Angela Willis (hereinafter plaintiff), awarding her $700,000 for the wrongful death of Willis. Defendants Shady White, Tanika McCool, Michelette Hughes, and Marenda Lathan were found liable for Willis's death. White, McCool, Hughes, and Lathan were also found to be acting in concert to bring about Willis's death. Additionally, the jury apportioned liability among defendants White, McCool, Hughes, Lathan, and Meyuntoe Davis, a third-party defendant. Davis was not a party the jury found to be acting in concert with White, McCool, Hughes, and Lathan. Neither Davis nor Lathan is a party to this appeal. On May 19, 2006, the trial court denied defendants' posttrial motions requesting a new trial or a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Defendants appeal, arguing (1) the evidence does not support the jury's findings; (2) the trial court's allowance of plaintiff's amended complaint adding in-concert liability was not proper; and (3) in the alternative, defendants are severally liable for the $700,000 award of damages to plaintiff. We reverse.

I. BACKGROUND

On January 15, 1999, defendants McCool, Hughes, and Lathan hosted a party at the home of White, McCool's mother. Prior to the party, McCool, Hughes, and Lathan distributed a flyer advertising the party that included the language "We will check for weapons." Willis attended the party and was killed when Meyuntoe Davis, another guest at the party, fired shots into a crowded living room and struck Willis in the forehead.

On January 19, 2000, plaintiff filed a petition alleging negligence on the part of defendants that resulted in Willis's death. Plaintiff's claim was filed pursuant to the Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180/0.01 through 2.2 (West 2000)), the Premises Liability Act (740 ILCS 130/1 through 5 (West 2000)), and section 27-6 of the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/27-6 (West 2000)).

On July 10, 2002, the trial court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment on all claims. On June 14, 2003, this court affirmed the trial court's order of summary judgment on all counts except the voluntary undertaking of a duty. Rice v. White, No. 4-02-0646 (June 13, 2003) (unpublished order pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 23). This court found that defendants voluntarily undertook a duty "to prevent the entrance of weapons into their party." Rice, slip order at 14. However, this court denied defendants summary judgment because it found that an issue of fact remained as to whether defendants performed their undertaking negligently and whether that negligence was a proximate cause of the injury.

On October 24, 2005, the day of the jury trial, plaintiff moved to amend her complaint to allege in-concert liability of defendants White, Lathan, McCool, and Hughes. The amendment stated, "one or more of the defendants knew that the conduct of one or more of the other defendants was negligent. Despite this knowledge, one or more of the defendants gave one or more of the other defendants substantial assistance while engaged in the negligent conduct." The trial court granted the motion to amend over objection.

Plaintiff called each of the defendants as adverse witnesses in her case in chief. Defendant Hughes testified that she, McCool, and Lathan hosted a party on "January 1, 1999," at the home of McCool's mother, Shady White. Hughes was then 18 years old. Hughes testified that she had made the flyer. Hughes testified that she, McCool, and Lathan printed between 100 and 200 flyers. Hughes said the women's plan was to hand them out to students at Southeast High School, which Hughes attended at that time.

The flyer read:

"I had a dream that Shammy (Hughes)[,] Rinnie (Lathan)[,] and Tanika was throwing another set!!!

211 South Paul; 9:00 p.m. — until ya'll think the party outside $3.00 at da [sic] door & Juice included

Jan[.] 15th[,] 1999

(We will check for weapons)."

Hughes testified that she discussed including the language about checking for weapons with McCool and Lathan before deciding to put it on the flyer. Hughes said she and the other women did not discuss how they would check for weapons. She testified that she did not check anyone at the party for weapons. Hughes said no one asked her to check for weapons and that she had never been to a party where guests were checked for weapons.

Hughes said that the girls had seen language like this on other flyers and that she included the language about checking for weapons on the flyer as "an afterthought." Hughes testified that she thought the language on other flyers was meant to prevent people from bringing weapons. Hughes said, "So, we thought that it would be a good idea for us to place this on our flyer as well."

Hughes said they were expecting all of the people at the party to be high school students. There were people at the party that night Hughes did not know. Hughes said that she was not concerned about people she did not know attending the party. Hughes said the girls did not discuss keeping people they did not know out of the party. Hughes said that there was someone at the front door the evening of the party collecting $3 from everyone. Hughes said that she was going in and out of the house during the party, as were other guests at the party.

Hughes testified that she knew the victim, Willis, but that she and Willis were not friends. Hughes said she did not know the shooter, Meyuntoe Davis, and had no idea he was coming to the party. Hughes testified that she had no reason to believe there were going to be any weapons at the party.

Defendant McCool testified that she hosted the party on January 15, 1999, at the home of her mother, White. McCool testified that she was not with Hughes when Hughes typed the flyer for the party. However, she testified that she saw the flyer a few days before the party and agreed that the language about checking for weapons was acceptable. McCool testified that she did not tell Hughes to remove the language from the flyer and that, in fact, some of the other language on the flyer was her idea. She also testified that she thought the language about checking weapons was a good idea because she did not want people bringing weapons to the party.

However, McCool said that she did not think that someone actually bringing weapons to the party was a real possibility. McCool testified that regardless of her belief that no one would actually bring weapons to the party, she intended to check for weapons because that is what the flyer said. She said that she and the other girls did not have any discussion prior to the party regarding who would check for weapons or how they would check for weapons. McCool said they never discussed what they would do if they found a weapon at the party. McCool said the girls wanted people to believe that this party was a safe place to go and that is why they said they would check for weapons on the flyer. McCool said that she did not have a discussion with the other girls before the party about checking for weapons because she thought by including the language on the flyer it would make people feel safer and discourage people from bringing a weapon to the party. She said she thought it would scare people into not bringing weapons.

McCool testified guests began arriving at 8 p.m. McCool stated that she saw Lathan checking for weapons at the party; she also saw her mom, White, checking for weapons. McCool said White was patting down the guests' arms and down their backs and legs. McCool was unsure if White checked the guests' pockets. McCool was asked whether she testified at her deposition in 2002 that she could not recall if anyone other than herself was checking for weapons that night. McCool testified that she was unsure whether her memory of events would be better at trial in 2006 than it was in 2002 when she gave her sworn testimony in a deposition.

McCool testified she also checked for weapons by patting down guests' arms and legs. She testified that someone else at the party made the guests remove their jackets. However, McCool said some guests did not remove their jackets. McCool said she did not check for weapons the entire night. She estimated she checked for weapons approximately 30 minutes at the beginning of the party and for a little while during the middle of the party. McCool testified that she had no training on how to search a person for weapons. She testified that she watched her mom pat down people for weapons and "did what she did."

McCool said there were approximately 100 to 150 people in the house that night. Her mom was the only adult supervision other than some of her older cousins. McCool said the house was crowded but that she and the other hosts never discussed refusing to allow any more people inside. She could not recall if she saw anyone go outside and then come back inside the house.

McCool said she had never met Davis before the shooting. McCool testified, however, that she did know the decedent, Willis. She said that Willis lived across the street from her and was at her house all the time. Despite spending so much time at her home, McCool said her and Willis were not friends. McCool said that she was jealous of Willis because "[Willis] thought my mom was hers." McCool said that Willis would "always come over and want to help her clean, just talk to her. She was just...