Opinion ID: 1251693
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Summary Judgment Decision

Text: Having concluded that the lower court properly found that no additional period of discovery was necessary prior to ruling on the summary judgment motion, we address the issue of whether the lower court properly granted summary judgment based upon its conclusion that the decedent's act constituted an intervening cause as a matter of law. In syllabus point one of Williams, this Court explained the fundamental standard for granting summary judgment, as follows: `A motion for summary judgment should be granted only when it is clear that there is no genuine issue of fact to be tried and inquiry concerning the facts is not desirable to clarify the application of the law.' Syllabus Point 3, Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Federal Insurance Co. of New York, 148 W.Va. 160, 133 S.E.2d 770 (1963). Syllabus Point 1, Andrick v. Town of Buckhannon, 187 W.Va. 706, 421 S.E.2d 247 (1992). 194 W.Va. at 53, 459 S.E.2d at 330. In syllabus point two of Williams, this Court continued: Summary judgment is appropriate if, from the totality of the evidence presented, the record could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, such as where the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of the case that it has the burden to prove. Id.
This Court explained the concept of intervening cause in syllabus point three of Wehner v. Weinstein, 191 W.Va. 149, 444 S.E.2d 27 (1994), as follows: `An intervening cause, in order to relieve a person charged with negligence in connection with an injury, must be a negligent act, or omission, which constitutes a new effective cause and operates independently of any other act, making it and it only, the proximate cause of the injury.' Syllabus Point 16, Lester v. Rose, 147 W.Va. 575, 130 S.E.2d 80 (1963) [modified on other grounds, State ex rel. Sutton v. Spillers, 181 W.Va. 376, 382 S.E.2d 570 (1989) ]. Syllabus Point 1, Perry v. Melton, 171 W.Va. 397, 299 S.E.2d 8 (1982). In Yourtee v. Hubbard, 196 W.Va. 683, 474 S.E.2d 613 (1996), this Court again addressed the function of an intervening cause as severing the causal connection between the original improper action and the damages. [3] The Yourtee court noted that [g]enerally, a willful, malicious, or criminal act breaks the chain of causation. Id. at 690, 474 S.E.2d at 620. In Yourtee, the trial court had granted a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the ground that the negligence of the thief in driving the stolen automobile in such a manner that caused the death of the plaintiff's decedent was an intervening efficient cause that interrupted the chain of causation between the defendant's act in allowing his keys to be conveniently available to facilitate the theft of the automobile and the death of the plaintiff's decedent. Id. This Court evaluated the evidence presented at trial and concluded that the lower court had the authority to determine that the car theft and subsequent acts ... were intervening efficient acts which were not foreseeable by the defendant; thereby breaking the chain of causation which originally began with the defendant's negligent act and relieving the defendant of any liability. 196 W.Va. at 691, 474 S.E.2d at 621. In syllabus point thirteen of Anderson v. Moulder, 183 W.Va. 77, 394 S.E.2d 61 (1990), this Court emphasized the significant role of the concept of foreseeability in the determination of intervening cause, as follows: A tortfeasor whose negligence is a substantial factor in bringing about injuries is not relieved from liability by the intervening acts of third persons if those acts were reasonably foreseeable by the original tortfeasor at the time of his negligent conduct. See also Hairston v. Alexander Tank and Equipment Co., 310 N.C. 227, 311 S.E.2d 559, 567 (1984) (finding that `[t]he test by which the negligent conduct of one is to be insulated as a matter of law by the independent negligent act of another, is reasonable unforeseeability on the part of the original actor of the subsequent intervening act and resultant injury') (quoting Riddle v. Artis, 243 N.C. 668, 91 S.E.2d 894, 896-97 (1956)). Regarding the particular act of suicide as an unforeseeable, intervening cause, the Tennessee court explained in White v. Lawrence, 975 S.W.2d 525 (Tenn.1998), that suicide may constitute an intervening cause if it is a willful, calculated, and deliberate act of one who has the power of choice. Id. at 530. The crucial inquiry is whether the defendant's negligent conduct led to or made it reasonably foreseeable that the deceased would commit suicide. If so, the suicide is not an independent intervening cause breaking the chain of legal causation. Id. In Wyke v. Polk County School Board, 129 F.3d 560 (11th Cir.1997), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit explained that [a]s a general rule, absent some type of custodial relationship, one cannot be held liable for the suicide of another. Id. at 574. The rule's underlying rationale is that suicide constitutes an independent, intervening cause, which is not ordinarily foreseeable. Id. The intent of the decedent in pulling the trigger in the present case cannot be ascertained; thus, reference to the act as an intentional act of suicide is not necessarily accurate. If one assumes the absence of intent to kill, the fact remains that the decedent placed a loaded gun to his head and pulled the trigger, spun the cylinder, and pulled the trigger again. This Court discussed the game of Russian Roulette in Koger v. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co., 152 W.Va. 274, 163 S.E.2d 672 (1968), and quoted extensively from Thompson v. Prudential Insurance Co., 84 Ga.App. 214, 66 S.E.2d 119 (1951), a Georgia Supreme Court case in which an insured was engaging in Russian Roulette. [4] The Georgia court noted that [o]ne engaging in such a bizarre pass-time with a lethal weapon, if he be compos mentis, knows that he is courting death or severe injury, and will be held to have intended such obvious, and well known results, if he is killed or injured. Id. at 123.
This Court has consistently dealt with the determination of intervening cause within the framework of the proximate cause analysis and has relegated the task of resolution of these matters to the jury unless the facts and inferences to be drawn therefrom are clear as a matter of law. Evans v. Farmer, 148 W.Va. 142, 133 S.E.2d 710 (1963). In syllabus point two of Evans, this Court explained: The questions of negligence, contributory negligence, proximate cause, intervening cause and concurrent negligence are questions of fact for the jury where the evidence is conflicting or when the facts, though undisputed, are such that reasonable men draw different conclusion from them. Id. at 143, 133 S.E.2d at 711, syl. pt. 2. In syllabus point six of Cullip ex rel. Pitts v. Domann, 266 Kan. 550, 972 P.2d 776 (1999), the court likewise clearly explained the distinction between issues of negligence to be decided by the jury and those to be determined as a matter of law: Ordinarily, questions of negligence including proximate cause are questions of fact to be resolved by the trier of fact. However, where all the evidence relied upon by a party is undisputed and susceptible of only one inference, the question of proximate cause becomes a question of law. Id. at 779. Similarly, in George v. Breising, 206 Kan. 221, 477 P.2d 983 (1970), a case involving the theft of a vehicle left with a private garage for repairs, the court concluded as a matter of law that although the act of leaving the keys in the ignition was negligent, the intervening act of negligence of the car thief was the direct and proximate cause of the injury sustained by the plaintiff. Id. at 988-89; see also Rodriguez v. Pro Cable Serv. Co., 266 A.D.2d 894, 697 N.Y.S.2d 440, 441 (N.Y.App. Div. 4 1999) (concluding that the issue of legal cause may be determined as a matter of law where the facts lead to only one rational conclusion); Stephenson ex rel. Coley v. S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 168 Misc.2d 528, 638 N.Y.S.2d 889, 894 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.1996) (discussing breaking the chain of causation where intervening acts are extraordinary, not foreseeable, or independent). The lower court discerned no conflicting evidence regarding the firing of the gun; nor did the lower court conclude that the facts were such that reasonable men could draw different conclusions therefrom. The individuals present at the time of the discharge of the gun all indicate in their statements, affidavits, and depositions that Mr. Cool pulled the trigger twice, firing the fatal shot on the second attempt. The witnesses further indicate that Mr. Cool fired the shots with no assistance or encouragement from other individuals. Mr. Cool made a conscious decision to remove the bullet from the gun, place it back into the cylinder, and fire the gun. When that first attempt did not produce a bullet, Mr. Cool spun the cylinder again and fired the gun a second time, killing himself. The lower court consequently found that the decedent's act, whether characterized as intentional suicide or a tragic consequence of playing Russian Roulette, constitutes an intervening cause as a matter of law. Upon review of the record, briefs, and arguments of counsel, we agree with the lower court's conclusion that there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the self-inflicted gunshot wound, that the decedent's act constituted an intervening cause, and that summary judgment was appropriate. We therefore affirm the decision of the lower court. Affirmed.