Opinion ID: 1743527
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The entrustee was incompetent.

Text: First, Balentine claims that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that Billy Sparkman was incompetent, or in this case, intoxicated at the time of the accident. As mentioned above, several witnesses asserted that Sparkman smelt of liquor, staggered, and slurred his speech; while several other witnesses claimed that he did not appear intoxicated. This court has repeatedly held that it is the sole province of the jury to determine the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of their testimony. Russell v. Colson, 326 Ark. 112, 928 S.W.2d 794 (1996). Therefore, the jury was free to believe the witnesses who claimed that Sparkman was intoxicated over those who alleged that he was not. Citing City of Little Rock v. Cameron, 320 Ark. 444, 897 S.W.2d 562 (1995), Balentine next argues that Sparkman's mere consumption of alcohol did not establish that he was driving in a negligent manner. Although Balentine's assertion of the law is correct, her application to the facts at hand is erroneous. In Cameron , the defendant crashed his car into a traffic pole owned by the City of Little Rock. Id. The officer who arrived at the scene of the accident testified that Cameron smelled of alcohol and registered a .05 percent blood-alcohol level. Id. On appeal, we held that the mere fact that Cameron had been drinking alcoholic beverages was not sufficient evidence to establish negligence. Id. Specifically, we explained that: there was no evidence that Cameron was intoxicated or otherwise impaired at the time of the accident or that his liquor consumption either evidenced a lack of reasonable care on Cameron's part or caused the wreck in any way. In sum, we agree that the City's proof does not give rise to an inference of negligence but only to conjecture and speculation. Id. (emphasis added). This case is distinguishable from Cameron in that in addition to showing that Sparkman had consumed alcohol, the witnesses also declared that he staggered and slurred his speech. Therefore, it was reasonable for the jury to conclude that Sparkman's consumption of alcohol had impaired his physical abilities, and more importantly, his ability to operate the vehicle in a reasonable manner. Thus, we find that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's conclusion that Sparkman negligently operated the station wagon.