Opinion ID: 1768479
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether the court erred in denying the plaintiff's motion for a directed verdict which was made at the end of the evidence presented by both parties.

Text: ¶ 57. This Court's standards of review for a denial of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a directed verdict are identical: Under this standard, this Court will consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellee, giving that party the benefit of all favorable inference that may be reasonably drawn from the evidence. If the facts so considered point so overwhelmingly in favor of the appellant that reasonable men could not have arrived at a contrary verdict, we are required to reverse and render. On the other hand, if there is substantial evidence in support of the verdict, that is, evidence of such quality and weight that reasonable and fair minded jurors in the exercise of impartial judgment might have reached different conclusions, affirmance is required. Miss. Power & Light Co. v. Cook, 832 So.2d 474, 478 (Miss.2002); Illinois Cent. R.R. Co. v. Hawkins, 830 So.2d 1162, 1169 (Miss.2002); Alpha Gulf Coast, Inc. v. Jackson, 801 So.2d 709, 720 (Miss.2001). Generally, a case should not be removed from a jury's consideration if from the facts favorable to the party adversely affected taken together with all reasonable inferences therefrom, it can be said that a rational jury could find in his favor. Hawkins, 830 So.2d at 1169. ¶ 58. Busick argues that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a directed verdict which was made at the end of the evidence presented by both parties. As Busick alleges, the undisputed physical facts of the collision, disregarding the testimony of both drivers clearly showed that Busick was traveling on a thorough fare within a parking lot for a distance of 300 feet. At the same time, Busick contends that St. John entered the main or thorough fare at a T intersection from a side drive and the collision occurred in Busick's lane of travel. Busick claims the obvious conclusion should result in a directed verdict in her favor less any reduction for her contributory negligence, if any. Busick argues that it is factually and physically impossible for her to be 100% at fault in the collision. ¶ 59. St. John counters that based on the apparent reliance on the substantive jury instructions submitted by Busick, her argument is based on a false premise that the statutory rules of the road contained in Title 63, Ch. 3 of Miss.Code Ann. apply in this case. From her use of the terms street and road, St. John interprets Busick's reliance on Miss Code Ann. § 63-3-125 as misguided. St. John submits that Busick relies on these rules in her attempt to call attention to the standards in Miss. Code Ann. § 63-3-807 for which Busick improperly urges that Busick had the right-of-way at the time of the accident, resulting in the court finding St. John liable as a matter law. However, St. John argues that Busick's reliance on these rules of the road is improper because those rules are not applicable to an accident which occurred in a private parking lot. Stewart v. Davis, 571 So.2d 926, 931 (Miss.1990); Vaughan v. Lewis, 236 Miss. 792, 798, 112 So.2d 247, 249 (1959) (holding that statutes obviously have no legal application, as such, so far as the regulation of traffic on private property is concerned.) ¶ 60. St. John contends that the issues should be decided under the principles of common law negligence. She cites Carlisle v. Cobb Bros. Construction Co., 238 Miss. 681, 685, 119 So.2d 918, 920 (1960), in support of this position. We agree. In Carlisle, this Court held that the sum and substance submitted to the jury that questions, related to sole proximate cause, of whether the Appellant kept a proper lookout and his car under control; whether he entered the intersection ... at a time when Defendant's truck was approaching... it so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard were not erroneous. Id. St. John further quotes: [t]hese were issues of fact. As was stated in Vaughan v. Lewis , these instructions enunciated principles and negligence under the common law. Carlisle, 238 Miss, at 686, 119 So.2d at 920. St. John submits that the law on which the jury was instructed in Instructions Number 9, 10 and 12 are the equivalent of the instructions approved in Carlisle. ¶ 61. Busick's contention that she was traveling on a throughway is not undisputed so that the court should have directed a verdict in her favor by finding that St. John should have yielded the right-of-way. There is evidence that, even if the trial court accepted this theory, St. John did not merely fail to stop. Instead, the evidence indicates that a reasonable juror could easily conclude that St. John's view was obstructed the first time she stopped at the intersection so that she chose to creep up to get a better look at oncoming traffic and stopped again. Further, it is not factually impossible for a reasonable juror to have believed that Busick failed to maintain a proper look out and reasonable control of her vehicle. She was traveling in a parking lot, where a reasonable juror could easily conclude that a reasonable person should maintain a speed of no more than 5 to 10 mph instead of the 35 m.p.h. which Busick admitted to traveling. Additionally, a reasonable juror could easily conclude that a driver should anticipate and expect other vehicles to approach from either the front or the side within a parking lot. Finally, a reasonable driver could be easily expected to slow his vehicle when approaching an intersection, especially one with a large parking lot where other cars are expected to be in motion at practically all times. This issue is without merit.