Source: https://cbaclelegalconnection.com/tag/wrongful-death/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 06:42:42+00:00

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The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Alhilo v. Kliem on Thursday, October 6, 2016.
Wrongful Death—Exemplary Damages—Habitual Traffic Offender—Evidence—Flight from Scene—Circumstantial Evidence—Noneconomic Damages Cap—Comparative Negligence.
Alhilo died in a collision between his motorcycle and a car driven by defendant Kliem. Alhilo’s mother, the plaintiff, brought this wrongful death action against Kliem. The jury allocated the fault and awarded noneconomic and exemplary damages. Kliem appealed the judgment entered on the verdict.
On appeal, Kliem contended that the trial court erred by excluding evidence of the deceased’s driving record and his status as a habitual traffic offender (HTO). Kliem argued that this evidence was admissible under the exception in C.R.S. § 42-4-1713; however, this case does not support admitting either type of evidence under this statute. Admissibility of HTO status evidence is subject to the rules of evidence, primarily CRE 401 and 403. Here, both rules weigh against admission. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by precluding evidence of the deceased’s status as an HTO and his driving record.
Kliem also contended that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of Kliem’s two prior convictions for driving while impaired. The trial court found this evidence relevant, and acknowledging the potential for prejudice, gave an appropriate limiting instruction. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing evidence of Kliem’s prior alcohol offenses for purposes of exemplary damages.
Kliem further contended that the trial court erred by admitting evidence that he fled the accident scene. Evidence of Kliem’s flight was relevant to explain why plaintiff was unable to present direct proof of Kliem having been impaired by alcohol, such as a breath test or blood draw shortly after the accident occurred. Further, evidence of Kliem’s flight showed his consciousness of liability. For these reasons, the trial court did not abuse its considerable discretion in allowing evidence of Kliem’s post-accident flight.
Kliem next contended that there was insufficient evidence to prove plaintiff was entitled to exemplary damages. However, the alcohol containers found in Kliem’s vehicle, and the facts that he failed to immediately seek medical attention for his severe injuries, fled the accident scene, and failed to immediately turn himself in to police constitute sufficient circumstantial evidence to support the exemplary damages award.
Kliem also argued that exemplary damages were improper because his left-hand turn was legal. There is no authority requiring that a traffic law violation be shown before exemplary damages can be awarded.
Finally, Kliem contended that the noneconomic damages cap in C.R.S. § 13-21-203 must be applied to an award of noneconomic damages before comparative negligence is apportioned. Once the amount of a plaintiff’s recovery is determined, the noneconomic damages cap in C.R.S. § 13-21-203 comes into play, which merely limits a plaintiff’s recovery to a specified maximum amount. Therefore, the trial court properly determined the amount of plaintiff’s recovery by first apportioning the percentage of comparative negligence attributable to Kliem and then applying the noneconomic damages cap in C.R.S. § 13-21-203 to that amount.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Birch v. Polaris Industries, Inc. on Wednesday, December 23, 2015.
Virl Birch purchased a 2011 Polaris RZR 800 off-road vehicle at the Victory Polaris dealership in St. George, Utah. In May 2011, he and his son took the vehicle for a ride and crashed, damaging the vehicle’s rollover protection system (ROPS). Moto Zoo Powersports in St. George estimated that repairing the ROPS and other damage would cost around $6,000. Unhappy with the figure, Mr. Birch contacted Skyler Damron, the Moto Zoo technician who had provided the estimate, about repairing the vehicle “off books” in Mr. Damron’s own garage. Mr. Damron agreed. Mr. Damron purchased a new roll cage for a 2008 Polaris RZR off Craigslist. Between 2008 and 2011, Polaris had made several changes to the design of the ROPS, and the ROPS for a 2008 RZR would not fit a 2011 RZR. Mr. Damron modified the ROPS so that it would fit Mr. Birch’s vehicle. In June 2012, Mr. Birch again crashed his vehicle. The ROPS buckled on impact, pinning him under it, and he died shortly thereafter.
Mr. Birch’s son and personal representative, Justin Birch, together with Mr. Birch’s wife and other two sons, brought suit against Polaris in the District of Utah, seeking damages for strict products liability, negligence, and breach of express and implied warranties. Under Utah state law, all three claims required proof that a product’s injury-causing defect existed at the time the product was sold. The district court set a December 16, 2013 deadline for amending pleadings and a fact discovery deadline of June 6, 2014. The parties engaged in substantial discovery, and on June 26, 2014, they jointly disassembled Mr. Birch’s vehicle, definitively discovering the modified roll cage.
On October 3, 2014, Polaris filed a motion for summary judgment on all plaintiffs’ claims. Polaris argued that Mr. Damron’s modifications had introduced into Mr. Birch’s vehicle a defect that had not previously existed, therefore plaintiffs’ claims were deficient as a matter of law. On October 31, 2014, plaintiffs filed both a response to the summary judgment motion and a request to amend the complaint. Plaintiffs sought to redefine the products at issue as both the 2011 Polaris RZR and the 2008 ROPS, and sought to add a claim that inadequate training was provided to Polaris service technicians. The magistrate judge denied plaintiffs’ motion in March 2015. On November 18, 2014, plaintiffs filed a Motion for Rule 56(d) Extension, requesting that the court delay ruling on the summary judgment motion so they could conduct more discovery regarding the replacement ROPS. The magistrate judge also denied this motion in March 2015. Plaintiffs promptly filed objections to the magistrate’s rulings.
The district court announced at the March 31, 2015 hearing that plaintiffs could not survive summary judgment because they could not prove “there was a defect in the product at the time and point of sale.” The district court pointed out that the case turned on the outcome of plaintiffs’ motion to amend. Evaluating the magistrate’s ruling under the “clearly erroneous or contrary to law” standard, the district court overruled plaintiffs’ objections. The district court found the magistrate judge had not clearly erred in finding plaintiffs failed to establish excusable neglect or good cause for their untimely motion to amend and had failed to file a proper motion for extended discovery. The court granted Polaris’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs appealed, contending the district court applied the wrong standard and should instead have conducted de novo review. Plaintiffs also contended the court erroneously concluded they lacked sufficient justification for their delay in filing the discovery and amendment motions.
The Tenth Circuit first evaluated the legal standard, and found that the district court correctly applied the “clearly erroneous or contrary to law” standard to its review of the magistrate’s order. Because the ruling was non-dispositive and did not have an identical effect to a dispositive ruling, the district court correctly applied the “clearly erroneous” standard of review. Further, plaintiffs waived their right to argue for de novo review by affirming in district court that the “clearly erroneous” standard was applicable. The Tenth Circuit found no error in the district court’s application of the “clearly erroneous” standard.
Next, the Tenth Circuit considered whether the district court erred in denying the motion to amend. The Tenth Circuit noted that untimely filed motions to amend require a showing of good cause and the judge’s consent. In this case, the magistrate found that plaintiffs failed to establish excusable neglect or good cause for filing the motion to amend 11 months after the deadline to do so expired. The magistrate noted that even if the plaintiffs did not discover that the ROPS was intended for a 2008 model until the June 26, 2014 disassembly, there was no justification for the four-month filing delay after that time. The district court agreed with the magistrate that the plaintiffs failed to show adequate justification for the lateness of their motion to amend. The Tenth Circuit similarly found that plaintiffs asserted no justification in their appeal briefs for the months-long delay. The Tenth Circuit ruled that the district court’s Rule 16 analysis was not an abuse of discretion.
Turning next to the motion for additional discovery, the Tenth Circuit again found no error in the district court’s denial. Again, the magistrate found that plaintiffs failed to establish good cause and excusable neglect due to its months’ long delay in filing its request for further discovery. The Tenth Circuit found no error, agreeing with the district court that the plaintiffs were not entitled to F.R.C.P. 56(d) relief because they failed to submit a sufficiently detailed affidavit.
Finally, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Polaris. The Tenth Circuit found that the district court correctly concluded there was no genuine dispute that the product as sold did not contain an injury-causing defect. Plaintiffs could not prevail under Utah products liability law because the defect was not present in the vehicle at the time of sale.
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Harner v. Chapman, MD on Thursday, December 27, 2012.
Medical Malpractice—Res Ipsa Loquitur Doctrine—CRE 301.
Plaintiff Carolyn Harner appealed the judgment entered in favor of defendant Dr. James Chapman, as well as the denial of her motion for post-trial relief. The judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for a new trial.
This medical malpractice case arose out of the death of Harner’s husband, who died several hours after undergoing an angiogram performed by Chapman, a cardiologist. Harner’s principal argument was that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that the res ipsa loquitur doctrine shifted to Dr. Chapman the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he was not negligent. The trial court concluded that the res ipsa loquiturdoctrine applied, but that the ultimate burden of proof remained with Harner pursuant to CRE 301. However, CRE 301 does not supersede the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Accordingly, the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that the res ipsa loquitur doctrine shifted the burden of proof to defendant. Because the question of who had the ultimate burden of proof may well have been dispositive in this case, the error was not harmless. Therefore, the judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for a new trial.

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