Court Opinion

ID: 9725947
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 12:21:55.832479+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:21.088205
License: Public Domain

ROBB, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. In affirming the trial court’s grant of Millice’s Motion for Summary Judgment, the majority relies on a case decided by another panel of this court, Mark v. Moser, 746 N.E.2d 410 *397(Ind.Ct.App.2001). I believe the decision in Mark was incorrect because incurred risk in Indiana can no longer be used as a complete bar to recovery, but is rather only part of the determination of comparative fault.
I.Indiana Comparative Fault Act
Indiana adopted the Comparative Fault Act (the “Act”), in 1985, replacing common law contributory negligence. Ind.Code §§ 34-51-2-1 to 19. Pursuant to the Act:
[A]ny contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages for an injury attributable to the claimant’s contributory fault, but does not bar recovery except as provided in section 6 of this chapter.
Ind.Code § 34-51-2-5. Section 6 of the Act states that in an action brought against one defendant or multiple defendants who may be treated as a single party, the claimant is barred from recovery if the claimant’s contributory fault is greater than the fault of all persons whose fault proximately contributed to the claimant’s damages. Ind.Code § 34-51-2-6.
“Fault” for purposes of the Act, is defined as:
any act or omission that is negligent, willful, wanton, reckless, or intentional toward the person or property of others. The term also includes unreasonable assumption of risk not constituting an enforceable express consent, incurred risk, and unreasonable failure to avoid an injury or to mitigate damages.
Ind.Code § 34 — 6—2—45(b) (emphasis added). See Heck v. Robey, 659 N.E.2d 498, 504 (Ind.1995) (citing to an earlier version of the “fault” definition).
II.Assumption of Risk
Generally, “a plaintiff who voluntarily assumes the risk of harm arising from the negligent or reckless conduct of the defendant cannot recover for such harm.” Robert Carroll, Note, Analysis of Mark v. Moser: Determining Duty of Care Between Sports Co Participants in Light of the Indiana Comparative Fault Statute, 11 DePaul-LCA Journal of Art and Entertainment Law 425, 430 (2001) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 496A (1965)). Primary assumption of risk requires the defendant to show that (1) the plaintiff had full subjective understanding of the nature and presence of a specific risk; and (2) the plaintiff voluntarily chose to encounter the risk. Id. If a court finds that the primary implied assumption of risk doctrine is applicable, then the defendant owes no legal duty to protect the plaintiff from the particular risk that caused the injury. Id.
Secondary implied assumption of risk requires that (1) the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; and (2) the plaintiff proceeded to encounter a known risk imposed by the defendant’s breach. Id.
III. Baker v. Osco Drug, Inc. and Heck v. Robey
In Baker v. Osco Drug, Inc., this court suggested that:
[t]he legislature’s inclusion of incurred risk in the definition of fault is indicative of their presumed intent that the defense no longer operate as a complete bar to recovery. Indeed, as we have alluded to previously, the adoption of the Act was intended to no longer subject the plaintiff who is partially at fault to the complete defense of contributory negligence.
632 N.E.2d 794, 797 (Ind.Ct.App.1994) (emphasis added). However, we left open the question of whether incurred risk would continue to be a viable defense in Indiana after the passage of the Act. Id. at 797-98.
*398Our supreme court answered that question one year later in Heck. The Heck court stated:
Consequently, the complete defense of “incurred risk” no longer exists; it is subsumed by the concept of fault in our comparative fault scheme. As a component of fault, it is subject to the Act’s apportionment scheme that reduces or eliminates the plaintiffs recovery depending on the degree of the plaintiffs fault.
659 N.E.2d at 504-05 (footnote omitted).
In Heck, this court had ruled that Robey had impliedly assumed a risk of injury because of his choice of occupation as a paramedic and emergency medical technician. Heck v. Robey, 630 N.E.2d 1361, 1366 (Ind.Ct.App.1994). We stated that, when the plaintiff incurs risk in the primary sense, the plaintiff reheves the defendant of any duty towards the plaintiff and no negligence action may lie. Id. Significantly, our supreme court rejected this analysis and stated that, under the Act, a plaintiff may reheve a defendant of what would otherwise be his or her duty to the plaintiff only by an express consent. Heck, 659 N.E.2d at 505.
IV. Mark v. Moser
In Mark, this court held that the Act did not apply and again relied on the primary assumption of risk theory. We stated that when the Indiana legislature eliminated the common law contributory negligence principles in favor of the Act, it failed to account for situations where parties are unable to protect themselves. Mark, 746 N.E.2d at 421. This left a “void in the law.” Id. The court held that, because it is the job of the judiciary to fill the voids in the law, participants in sporting events are barred as a matter of law from recovering against co-participants for injuries sustained as a result of inherent or foreseeable dangers of the sport. Id. This holding resuscitated the primary assumption of risk theory that the Indiana Supreme Court disapproved of in Heck. Surprisingly, we did not cite to Heck once in our opinion in Mark.
In Mark, we relied on a California case, Knight v. Jewett, 3 Cal.4th 296, 11 Cal.Rptr.2d 2, 834 P.2d 696 (1992), in support of our holding that negligence was inappropriate for the inherent risks involved in sports. However, the Nevada Supreme Court has distinguished Knight on the basis of the different comparative law statutes of California and Nevada. Auckenthaler v. Grundmeyer, 110 Nev. 682, 877 P.2d 1039, 1041-42 (1994). The Aucken-thaler court stated:
Even though the California legislature has adopted pure comparative negligence, the state still recognizes the viability of primary implied assumption of risk as an affirmative defense. Conversely, the California high court has held that secondary implied assumption of risk ... has been subsumed by the state’s comparative negligence framework. Due to this dichotomous precedent, California courts are struggling to define what constitutes primary and secondary aspects of the affirmative defense.
Id. (citations omitted). The Nevada court stated that “[s]uch a reduced standard affronts Nevada law because, unlike California, Nevada precedent has abrogated all forms of implied assumption of risk.” Id. at 1042. The court also stated that it was unable to ascertain any productive reason why any implied assumption of risk should survive the “beneficent” purposes and effect of Nevada’s comparative negligence statute. Id.
In Indiana, our comparative fault act reads more like Nevada than California. The Act was enacted to “ameliorate the harshness of the then prevailing doctrine *399of contributory negligence.” Baker, 632 N.E.2d at 797. Our supreme court has specifically stated that the doctrine of incurred risk no longer exists.. Heck, 659 N.E.2d at 504-05. And, most significantly, our supreme court has reversed this court when it has tried in the past to carve out an exception for implied primary assumption of risk. Heck, 659 N.E.2d at 505.
In sum, this court has attempted to carve out an incurred risk exception from the Indiana Comparative Fault Act before by making an exception for the incurred risk relating to the profession one chooses. See Heck, 630 N.E.2d at 1366. The Indiana Supreme Court reversed our decision and stated that incurred risk as a complete defense no longer exists after the enactment of the Act. Heck, 659 N.E.2d at 504-05.
In Mark, we carved out another incurred risk exception, this time for sports participants. Transfer was not sought, so our supreme court did not have an opportunity to comment on the case. However, there is no reason to believe that they would allow this exception when the other was so soundly reversed.
The majority posits that Heck v. Robey is not our supreme court’s present position on assumption of risk because certain dangers are integral to certain jobs. Justice Dickson expressed concern that this might signal an approval of the theory of primary assumption of risk. It is for this proposition, they cite Creasy v. Rusk, 730 N.E.2d 659 (Ind.2000). Op. at 394-95 n. 2. In Creasy, a nursing home caregiver was struck by an Alzheimer’s patient. The court held that the patient owed his caregiver no duty of care because she was specifically employed to encounter and combat particular dangers. Creasy, 730 N.E.2d at 667-68. However, the court stated:
In Indiana, the workers’ compensation system, not the tort system, exists to cover such employment-related losses. To the extent that the workers’ compensation system is inadequate as Creasy asserts, the inadequacy reflects defects in the workers’ compensation system and is not a ground for alternative recovery under tort law.
Id. at 668. In Creasy, the plaintiff was attempting to extend tort law to cover damages not covered by workers’ compensation. In the present case, the plaintiff is attempting to recover for his damages and the majority is using assumption of risk as a complete bar to recovery.
Additionally, the public policy concerns which drove the decision in Creasy dealt with situations with mental health patients specifically — for example, it is a difficult decision to place someone in a health care facility and it is not in the interest of the public to discourage people from placing someone in a facility for fear the patient may injure someone and the family would have to pay for such injury. However, such public policy concerns are not present in the case at hand. Holding a sports participant accountable for his negligent acts is not likely to discourage others from participating in sports, although it may encourage sports participants to be cautious of other participants.
Therefore, I would hold that Mark v. Moser is incorrect and should not guide our decision here. Rather, incurred risk should only be considered a factor in determining comparative negligence rather than a complete bar to recovery. I would hold that the trial court erred in applying a reckless or intentional standard of care and in granting Millice’s Motion for Summary Judgment. This case should be examined under principles of simple negligence.3
*400Gyuriak has raised a sufficient question of fact to overcome a motion for summary judgment. Although Millice claims he yelled “Fore,” Gyuriak claims that he did not hear anyone yell “Fore” before he was struck by Millice’s ball. Millice admits he saw Gyuriak in the rough between the two holes and still proceeded to tee off. Additionally, Millice admitted that Gyuriak was approximately 220 yards away, which was within his average drive. Finally, he stated that he did not wait for Gyuriak to move from the rough because he had a lot of confidence in his game that day. Moreover, the traditional negligence analysis does not telegraph the result as a jury might still find Gyuriak’s failure to pay attention resulted in him being more than 50% at fault. It is not for us to make that determination. Based on this information, Gyuriak has presented sufficient evidence to raise a question of fact relating to Mil-lice’s negligence. I would reverse the trial court’s grant of Millice’s Motion for Summary Judgment and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.

. As to the argument that negligence as a standard instead of reckless or intentional will release a flood of litigation, we are not convinced. As the Auckenthaler court noted, *400“We have found very few cases allowing recovery for sports injuries based upon ordinary negligence principles. When properly applied, the negligence standard strikes the proper balance between vigorous participation in sports and accommodating litigants injured by unreasonable behavior.” Auckenthaler, 877 P.2d at 1044.