State v. Gibbs, 1--175A16
| Decision Date | 03 November 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 1--175A16,1--175A16 |
| Citation | 166 Ind.App. 387,336 N.E.2d 703 |
| Parties | STATE of Indiana, Defendant-Appellant, v. Steven Ray GIBBS, Plaintiff-Appellee. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Walter F. Lockhart, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for defendant-appellant.
Donald R. Ewers, Paul E. Wendel, Evansville, for plaintiff-appellee.
The defendant-appellant, State, brings this appeal from a judgment awarding $100,000 damages for injuries suffered by the plaintiff-appellee, Gibbs, in an automobile collision with a State employee.
The issues upon appeal are whether the evidence was sufficient to establish that the State's employee was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident and whether Gibbs' Instruction Number 4 was properly given by the trial court.
For the reasons expressed herein the judgment is affirmed.
Ralph Coe was employed by the Indiana State Highway Commission as an inspector of waste water treatment tests conducted at interstate highway rest parks near Henryville and Batesville, Indiana. Since the job involved considerable driving between the parks, approximately two-hundred miles a day, the State furnished Coe with a state-owned, 1970 Chevrolet automobile. The car was checked out to Coe at all times. He was allowed to drive it home after work and to lunch during the work day, but was not allowed to use it for other personal business. Coe generally began work around 7:30 A.M. and finished around 5:00 P.M., but he considered himself on call twenty-four hours a day.
On May 19, 1972, Coe was performing chemical analyses of the disposal system at Henryville. He finished the tests at 5:00 P.M. and drove to the office in Seymour to see his supervisor. Upon arriving, Coe did not find his supervisor, but he remained in the office long enough to read the notes left on his desk during the day. Coe checked several of the restaurants in Seymour where his supervisor could sometimes be found after working hours, but was not successful in locating him.
Around 7:00 P.M. Coe left Seymour and drove towards Brownstown where he intended to eat his evening meal and have a few drinks before proceeding to his home located west of town. The accident from which this case arose occurred around 10:00 P.M. of that evening on Highway 50 between Brownstown and Coe's home. Coe's state-owned car crossed the center line and struck a vehicle being driven by Gibbs who was on his way to National Guard duties at Camp Atterbury. Gibbs suffered serious injuries and his foot was later amputated as a result of the collision.
Gibbs filed his complaint for personal injuries and property damage on September 14, 1972, naming Ralph Coe and the State of Indiana as defendants. An answer was filed denying the allegations of the complaint. Gibbs later filed an amended complaint for personal injuries and dismissed the cause of action against Coe. On July 16, 1974, Gibbs filed a second amended complaint against the State. The State admitted the paragraphs of the complaint which alleged that Gibbs' injuries were the proximate result of a State employee's (Coe's) negligent operation of a State-owned vehicle but specifically denied the allegation that Coe was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the collision. The case was tried upon that issue.
Trial to the jury commenced on September 3, 1974, and a verdict was returned against the State in the amount of $100,000 with judgment entered accordingly. The State bring this appeal.
On appeal, the State contends that the evidence was not sufficient to support the judgment in that no evidence was presented to establish that Coe was acting within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident. The State argues that the evidence shows only that Coe was acting entirely in his own behalf by driving home after completing his duties.
Generally, the master is liable for the physical torts of his servant committed while acting within the scope of the servant's employment under the rule of law referred to as a respondeat superior. Great American Tea Co. v. Van Buren (1941), 218 Ind. 462, 35 N.E.2d 580; Annis v. Postal Telegraph Co. (1944), 114 Ind.App. 543, 52 N.E.2d 373.
Whether an employee is acting within the scope of his employment at the time of an accident is a question of fact to be determined in light of the evidence of each particular case. Reinhart v. Ideal Pure Milk Co., Inc. (1963), 135 Ind.App. 338, 193 N.E.2d 655.
The facts need not show that the acts of the servant were motivated solely or predominately by the desire to serve the master....
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Konradi v. U.S., 89-3532
...Motor Co., 462 N.E.2d 247, 249 (Ind.App.1984), this weasel word is definitely required for the sake of accuracy. In State v. Gibbs, 166 Ind.App. 387, 336 N.E.2d 703 (1975), the employer furnished the employee with a car for use on the job but also allowed him to take it home at night. The a......
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...scope of the servants' employment. Trinity Lutheran Church, Inc. v. Miller, 451 N.E.2d 1099, 1102 (Ind.App.1983); State v. Gibbs, 166 Ind.App. 387, 336 N.E.2d 703 (1975). Here, Hall and Mickilini may have committed an assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress within the scope......
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...objective and turned to accomplish a task reasonably within the scope of his employment and of benefit to his master. State v. Gibbs, 336 N.E.2d 703 (Ind.App.1975). There was thus introduced sufficient evidence to present the case to the triers of fact. Whether an employee was engaged in th......
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