Title: Gero v. J.W.J. Realty

State: vermont

Issuer: Vermont Supreme Court

Document:

Gero v. J.W.J. Realty (99-045); 171 Vt. 57; 757 A.2d 475 

[Filed 16-Jun-2000]

       NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to motions for reargument under
  V.R.A.P. 40 as well as formal  revision before publication in the Vermont
  Reports.  Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of  Decisions,
  Vermont Supreme Court, 109 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05609-0801 of
  any  errors in order that corrections may be made before this opinion goes
  to press.

                                 No. 99-045

Robert and Maryanne Gero	                 Supreme Court

                                                 On Appeal from
     v.	                                         Chittenden Superior Court

J.W.J. Realty, et al.	                         January Term, 2000

Matthew I. Katz, J.

James M. Dingley of Dingley & Powell, P.C., Burlington, and Michael Rose, 
  St. Albans, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Stephen D. Ellis of Kiel & Ellis, Springfield, for Defendant-Appellee J.W.J. 
  Realty.

Pietro J. Lynn and Craig S. Nolan of Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C., Burlington, 
  for Defendant-Appellee Wiemann-Lamphere.

PRESENT:  Amestoy, C.J., Dooley, Morse, Johnson and Skoglund, JJ.

       AMESTOY, C.J.   Plaintiffs Robert and Maryanne Gero (FN1) appeal a
  Chittenden  Superior Court order granting defendants J.W.J. Realty and
  Wiemann-Lamphere judgment as a  matter of law.  Plaintiff argues that the
  court erred because (1) he had not completed his case and (2)  the evidence
  he presented and proffered gave rise to a jury question as to defendants'
  liabilities.  We  affirm.

       At trial, plaintiff presented the following facts.  On November 11,
  1992, at the construction  site of a new Saturn automobile dealership,
  plaintiff, an employee of Mahl Construction, Inc., 

 

  slipped and fell on a dirt mound ramp that provided access to Mahl's
  on-site trailer.  Plaintiff  claims that he was required to access the
  trailer to obtain equipment for his job.  The dirt mound had  uneven
  slopes, and no hand or guard rail was provided.  Moreover, freezing
  temperatures on the  morning of the accident had possibly aggravated the
  mound's dangerousness and rendered it  slippery.  Plaintiff allegedly fell
  and suffered an injury, which has caused him chronic pain ever  since.  He
  collected workman's compensation from Mahl for his injury.

       Plaintiff brought a tort action in superior court against J.W.J.
  Realty, the owner of the  construction site; Wiemann-Lamphere, an
  architectural firm hired by J.W.J. to coordinate the  construction work;
  Jeffrey and William Savoie, principals of J.W.J.; and Saturn of Vermont,
  Inc. (FN2)   Defendants indemnified Mahl.  A jury trial commenced, and for
  three days, plaintiff  introduced evidence intended to support his
  allegation that the dirt mound was unsafe and that  defendants J.W.J. and
  Wiemann-Lamphere knew about the dirt mound, should have recognized its 
  danger, and could have rectified the danger it posed.  

       With two of plaintiff's witnesses yet to testify, the court engaged in
  a lengthy discussion with  counsel regarding the relevant law and the
  evidence already presented.  The court invited plaintiff's  counsel to make
  an offer of proof with respect to any remaining evidence relevant to
  liability issues.   After plaintiff's proffer, the court concluded that
  there was no possible way that, given plaintiff's  case, it could give any
  instructions that would allow a reasonable jury to find liability against
  J.W.J.  or Wiemann-Lamphere.  Consequently, the court granted defendants'
  motions for judgment as a  matter of law, and plaintiff appealed to this
  Court.

 

       Judgment as a matter of law may be granted where "there is no legally
  sufficient evidentiary  basis for a reasonable jury to find for [the
  nonmoving] party."  V.R.C.P. 50(a)(1); Brueckner v.  Norwich Univ., __ Vt.
  __, __,