Woods v. Mendez

• Decision Date: 10 January 2003
• Docket Number: Record No. 020466.
• Citation: 574 S.E.2d 263,265 Va. 68
• Parties: Nichole WOODS v. Armando V. MENDEZ, et al.
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

574 S.E.2d 263

265 Va. 68

Nichole WOODS v. Armando V. MENDEZ, et al.

Record No. 020466.

Supreme Court of Virginia.

January 10, 2003.

William R. Curdts (John S. Martin; Dunton, Simmons & Dunton, on briefs), for appellant.

Janet Whitaker Cochran for appellee James Wesley Molle; Matthew J. Parini for appellee Armando V. Mendez.

No brief or argument for appellees Ernesto Mendez-Chavez and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.

Present: All the Justices.

Opinion by Justice BARBARA MILANO KEENAN.

In this appeal, we consider whether the trial court erred in sustaining the defendants' demurrers on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to state a claim for punitive damages either under Code § 8.01-44.5 or at common law.

On June 27, 1999, about 2:30 a.m., the plaintiff, Nichole Woods, was a passenger in a vehicle (the Woods vehicle) traveling north on Interstate Route 95 in Prince William County. The Woods vehicle slowed as it approached a vehicle (the Mendez vehicle) owned by Ernesto Mendez-Chavez and driven by his cousin, Armando V. Mendez.¹ The Woods vehicle was unable to pass the Mendez vehicle, which "swerved ... back and forth" across three lanes of the highway "so as to impede and obstruct" the movement of other vehicles.

At the same time, another vehicle, driven by James W. Molle, collided with the rear end of the Woods vehicle, causing the Woods vehicle to collide with the Mendez vehicle. The Woods vehicle was "sandwiched" between the Mendez and Molle vehicles and was forced off the highway by the impact of the combined collisions. The Woods vehicle burst into flames, and Woods was injured as a result of the accident. Samples of Molle's blood, taken at 5:56 a.m., were subjected to two separate chemical analyses, which indicated that Molle had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.13% and 0.14% by weight by volume, respectively.

Woods filed a third amended motion for judgment in the trial court alleging, among other things, that she was injured because of the negligent acts of Armando Mendez (Mendez) and Molle. In Count I, she sought compensatory damages for the defendants' alleged negligence. In Count II, Woods asserted a claim for punitive damages against Mendez containing various allegations, including the claim that "Mendez's conduct was so willful and wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others." She alleged that Mendez, who was operating a vehicle with a BAC of at least 0.15%, "intentionally swerved" the vehicle "back and forth across three lanes of interstate highway so as to impede and obstruct other motorists."

In Count III, Woods asserted a claim against Molle for punitive damages, alleging that his conduct was "so willful and wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others." She alleged that Molle drove his vehicle while legally intoxicated after consuming "at least 10 beers," and that at the time of the collision his BAC was "0.15% or more by weight by volume." She also alleged that Molle continued to drink beer while he was driving on the highway and fell asleep, "completely unaware" of her vehicle or the Mendez vehicle. She further asserted that Molle drove his vehicle "with insufficient sleep and with actual or constructive knowledge that he was in danger of falling asleep." Woods also alleged that Molle did not attempt any evasive action before his vehicle collided at "full-force" with the rear of the Woods vehicle "at a speed of at least 60 miles per hour."

Mendez filed a demurrer to Count II on various grounds, including the ground that Woods failed to state sufficient facts to support a common law claim for punitive damages. Molle filed a demurrer to Count III, asserting that Woods failed to allege sufficient facts to support a claim for punitive damages either at common law or under Code § 8.01-44.5.

At the time of the proceedings in the trial court, before the amendment of Code § 8.01-44.5 in July 2002, the statute provided in relevant part²:

In any action for personal injury or death arising from the operation of a motor vehicle, engine or train, the finder of fact may, in its discretion, award exemplary damages to the plaintiff if the evidence proves that the defendant acted with malice toward the plaintiff or the defendant's conduct was so willful or wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others.

A defendant's conduct shall be deemed sufficiently willful or wanton as to show a conscious disregard for the rights of others when the evidence proves that (i) when the incident causing the injury or death occurred, the defendant had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 percent or more by weight by volume or 0.15 grams or more per 210 liters of breath; (ii) at the time the defendant began, or during the time he was, drinking alcohol, he knew that he was going to operate a motor vehicle, engine or train; and (iii) the defendant's intoxication was a proximate cause of the injury to or death of the plaintiff.

At a hearing, Molle argued, among other things, that Woods' claim against him for punitive damages under the statute was fatally deficient because the certificates of analysis showed that his BAC fell below the 0.15% statutory threshold required to establish such a claim. Molle asserted that in civil, as well as in criminal, cases "there should be a presumption that the BAC is the same at the time that the blood is taken or the breath is tested as it was at the time of the accident."

In support of her statutory punitive damages claim against Molle, Woods proffered evidence that a forensic toxicologist would testify at trial that Molle's BAC was "far in excess" of 0.15% at the time of the collision. Woods also proffered evidence that the toxicologist would base his opinion on the existing test results and would testify that Molle's BAC declined after the accident as the alcohol metabolized in his system.

The trial court sustained Mendez's and Molle's demurrers. The court concluded that the allegations, considered in the light most favorable to Woods, failed to state a common law claim for punitive damages against either defendant. In support of its holding, the court observed that Woods' pleadings did not allege facts indicating that either of these defendants "had prior awareness, from their knowledge of existing circumstances, that their conduct would probably cause injury to another."

The trial court also held that Woods' pleadings failed to state a claim against Molle for punitive damages under Code § 8.01-44.5. The court first observed that the certificates of analysis showed that Molle had a BAC of 0.13% and 0.14%, which amounts were below the minimum concentration of 0.15% necessary to support a claim for punitive damages under the statute.

The trial court also relied on the Court of Appeals' decision in Davis v. Commonwealth, 8 Va.App. 291, 381 S.E.2d 11 (1989). There, the Court of Appeals held that Code § 18.2-266(i) establishes a rebuttable presumption that a defendant's BAC at the time of driving is the same as the BAC determined by testing after his arrest, and that a defendant may challenge such test results with other competent evidence. Id. at 300, 381 S.E.2d at 16. The trial court concluded that because Woods, unlike the defendant in Davis, was a plaintiff in a civil case rather than a defendant in a criminal prosecution, she was not entitled to present evidence rebutting Molle's test results, which were conclusive evidence of his BAC when the collision occurred,

At trial, Mendez and Molle conceded liability and a jury considered only the issue of compensatory damages. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Woods against Mendez and Molle in the amount of $27,365.50, plus interest. The trial court entered judgment in accordance with the verdict.

On appeal, Woods first argues that Code § 8.01-44.5 does not provide a presumption that a chemical analysis of a blood or breath sample taken after an accident reflects a driver's BAC at the time of the accident. She asserts that the statute's plain language requires proof that a driver's BAC at the time of the incident was 0.15% or greater, and does not restrict the type of evidence that may be offered to prove that the driver's BAC reached that level when the incident occurred. Thus, she contends that the trial court erred in barring her from producing evidence concerning Molle's BAC at the time of the accident and in applying a conclusive presumption to the test results measuring his BAC more than three hours later.

In response, Molle asserts that Code § 8.01-44.5 establishes a "bright line" requirement that a driver have a BAC of 0.15% before being subjected to liability for punitive damages. Molle argues that a plaintiff in a civil case should not be permitted to meet this requirement by presenting evidence that a driver's BAC at the time of an accident was higher than the BAC results shown from chemical tests administered after the accident. He relies on Davis to support his contentions. We disagree with Molle's arguments.

Under basic rules of statutory construction, we consider the language of Code § 8.01-44.5 to determine the General Assembly's intent from the words contained in the statute. Vaughn, Inc. v. Beck, 262 Va. 673, 677, 554 S.E.2d 88, 90 (2001); Cummings v. Fulghum, 261 Va. 73, 77, 540 S.E.2d 494, 496 (2001). When a statute's language is plain and unambiguous, courts are bound by the plain meaning of that language. Industrial Dev. Auth. v. Board of Supervisors, 263 Va. 349, 353, 559 S.E.2d 621, 623 (2002); Cummings, 261 Va. at 77,540 S.E.2d at 496; Earley v. Landsidle, 257 Va. 365, 370, 514 S.E.2d 153, 155 (1999). Therefore, when the General Assembly has used words of a plain and definite import, courts cannot assign to them a construction that effectively would add words to the statute and vary the plain meaning of the language used. Burlile v. Commonwealth, 261 Va. 501, 511, 544 S.E.2d 360, 365 (2001); Shelor Motor Co....