Court Opinion

ID: 9624187
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:53:28.715303+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:40.639906
License: Public Domain

Toal, Justice
(dissenting):
I respectfully dissent. The majority relies in reversing the Court of Appeals on the rule that a “[cjausative violation of an applicable statute is evidence of recklessness, willfulness, and wantonness.” Ante, at 418. (Citing, Johnson v. Parker, 279 S.C. 132, 303 S.E. (2d) 95 (1983)). Subsequently, the majority notes that “[violation of [any] of the aforementioned statutes (meaning §§ 56-5-1860, 56-5-3230, or 56-5-4770) would constitute evidence of recklessness, willfulness and wantonness on [the defendant] Turner’s part.” Ante, at 419. In my judgment, the majority has not properly construed our law regarding the violation of a statute and whether it constitutes evidence of recklessness/willfulness. I fear that the majority’s interpretation of our law on this point results in a severe limitation on a trial judge’s power to grant a directed verdict or a judgment non obstante veredicto.
The majority interprets the South Carolina law to require, no matter the facts involved, that a jury consider a case when there has been a causative violation of an applicable statute. I strongly disagree that this is an accurate statement of our law. This Court has in many instances utilized and cited to the rule here in question. However, in many past cases, we have *414pointed out that the rule is only a general one, and that it does have limitations. For example, we held in Jumper v. Goodwin, 239 S.C. 508, 515, 123 S.E. (2d) 857, 860 (1962):
The trial judge was also correct in submitting the case to the jury on the ground that there was evidence from which the jury could conclude that the appellant was guilty of willfulness or recklessness, in which event simple contributory negligence would not be a bar. The violation of an applicable statute is negligence per se and is ordinarily evidence of willfulness which may be considered by the jury, together with all of the other circumstances in the case, in determining whether a party was only negligent or was willful.
(emphasis added) (citing Callison v. Charleston & W.C. Ry. Co., 106 S.C. 123, 90 S.E. 260 (1916)).
More recently this Court stated that, “[t]he causative violation of an applicable statute constitutes negligence per se and may be evidence of reckless or willful conduct.” (emphasis added). Carraway v. Pee Dee Block, Inc., 275 S.C. 511, 514, 273 S.E. (2d) 340, 342 (1980). The emphasized language in Carraway and Jumper indicate that the rule in question has its limitations. In an older decision moreover, this Court settled the question of the parameters of the rule in dispositive fashion. It is the case of Cubbage v. Roos, 181 S.C. 188, 186 S.E. 794 (1936) which is controlling in this case and cements my view that the majority has misinterpreted the rule.
There, the plaintiff took the exact position that Cooper takes here. The plaintiff there cited Callison v. Charleston W.C. Ry. Co., supra, for the proposition that the violation of a statute is evidence of recklessness and sufficient to carry that issue to the jury. The Court noted the general rule, but carved out a caveat thusly:
It will be noted, however, that none of these cases {Callison and others) hold that the mere violation of a statute requires the submission of an issue of willfulness, recklessness, or wantonness to be submitted [sic] to the jury, where the only reasonable inference to be drawn from all the testimony is that there is no recklessness, willfulness or wantonness.
*415(emphasis added). Cubbage, 181 S.C. at 194, 186 S.E. at 796. The Court went on to note that, “[t]o so hold (as the plaintiff desired) would overrule the well-recognized principle that if only one reasonable inference can be deduced from the evidence, it becomes a question of law for the Court, and not a question of fact for the jury.” Id., 181 S.C. at 196, 186 S.E. at 797. Lastly, the Cubbage Court held:
This Court has not held that the mere violation of the letter of a statute in and of itself requires the circuit judge to submit an issue of recklessness, willfulness, or wantonness where the evidence shows that the spirit of the statute was being complied with, and that the only reasonable inference from all the testimony is that such violation of the statute did not in fact amount to a reckless, willful, or wanton act.
Id., 181 S.C. at 195-96, 186 S.E. at 797.
Applying the Cubbage case to the instant facts, I agree with the Court of Appeals that there is simply no evidence of record indicative of recklessness or willfulness on the defendant Turner’s part. To hold as the majority does would mean that a directed verdict in practically any motor vehicle accident case (where statutes govern almost every aspect of driving) would be virtually impossible to obtain, regardless of the facts. Furthermore, a trial judge would be required, where the letter of a statute has been violated, to submit a charge to the jury on punitive damages, regardless of whether it appeared to him/her that the defendant was not reckless/willful. In my view, the majority overrules Cubbage by its interpretation of our law.
As a final matter, the rule adopted by the majority would allow a jury to find a particular defendant to be reckless solely because he violated a statute, without any independent evidence of recklessness, and regardless of the surrounding circumstances in the case. By way of illustration, suppose that a motorist is speeding at twenty-five miles per hour in a twenty miles per hour zone down a seldom-traveled straight road at midday. A pedestrian darts out from behind a tree into the path of the motorist and is hit. The pedestrian was certainly contributorily negligent in darting out into the road, but the majority would allow him to go to the jury against the mo*416torist, since the motorist had violated the statutory prohibition against speeding. The circumstances of such a case mandate, in my view, a directed verdict in favor of the defendant. While the defendant may have violated a statutory prohibition, he could not be said in any way to have been reckless in his conduct.1
Conversely, assume the following scenario. A motorist is speeding at twenty-five miles per hour in a twenty miles per hour zone through a very crowded university campus, where hurried students continually cross streets at various junctures. Reckless conduct can perhaps be seen in this instance, unlike in the preceding set of facts. Simply put, I am of the view that a plaintiff should not be allowed, regardless of the surrounding facts, to bootstrap his case to the jury simply because the defendant violated a statute, as opposed to some other legal duty.
Accordingly, I would dismiss the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted.

 Essentially similar facts were present in Cubbage.