Court Opinion

ID: 9715394
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:04:12.982974+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:34.626760
License: Public Domain

Krivosha, C.J.,
concurring in the result.
I concur in the result reached by the majority, but believe the majority has unnecessarily promoted a “circumstantial evidence” rule in civil cases which I believe to be outmoded and not proper in light of present day circumstances. My reason for concurring in the result is very simple. The policy in question clearly required the district judge to sustain the motion for directed verdict under the facts in this case.
Coverage D3(a) of the policy provides: “Any direct losses by theft shall be construed to include only losses where clear and satisfactory evidence is established regarding the theft.” The evidence offered by the insureds did not satisfy that requirement. The Andersons could not recover when the most the evidence established was that there was opportunity for someone to steal the grain. The reason for sustaining the motion for a directed verdict is not because of the circumstantial evidence rule but, rather, because of the terms of the policy.
But for the language of the policy, I believe the majority opinion would be in error. While I believe that the majority has accurately set out the Nebraska rule regarding circumstantial evidence in a civil case as that rule has been on occasion announced by this court, I believe that if one reviews that rule it will be apparent that the rule is both inconsistent with what we have now done in criminal cases, see State v. Buchanan, 210 Neb. 20, 312 N.W.2d 684 (1981), and internally inconsistent.
The rule, as set out in the majority opinion, reads as follows:
*8(1) “The plaintiffs may establish their case by circumstantial evidence as well as by direct evidence.
(2) “However, circumstantial evidence is not sufficient to sustain a verdict depending solely thereon for support, unless the circumstances proved by the evidence are of such nature and so related to each other that the conclusion reached by the jury is the only one that can fairly and reasonably be drawn therefrom. [Citation omitted.]
(3) “The evidence must be such as to make the plaintiffs’ theory of causation reasonably probable, not merely possible.
(4) “In every case, before the evidence is submitted to the jury, there is a preliminary question for the court to decide, when properly raised, not whether there is literally no evidence, but whether there is any evidence upon which a jury can properly proceed to find a verdict for the party producing it, upon whom the burden of proof is imposed. [Citation omitted.]
(5) “Where several inferences are deducible from the facts presented, which inferences are opposed to each other, but equally consistent with the facts proved, the plaintiffs do not sustain their position by a reliance alone on the inferences which would entitle them to recover. [Citation omitted.]
(6) “Conjecture, speculation, or choice of quantitative possibilities are not proof. There must be something more which would lead a reasoning mind to one conclusion rather than to the other.”
(Emphasis supplied.) Quoting Popken v. Farmers Mutual Home Ins. Co., 180 Neb. 250, 142 N.W.2d 309 (1966). I have numbered the paragraphs simply for ease of discussion.
To begin with, I believe the rule as we have formulated it over the years, and as we continue to repeat it now, is internally inconsistent. In paragraph (2) we require that in order for the judgment to be sustained, and, again, presumably before the court may submit the matter to the jury, the circumstantial evidence must be such that the conclusion reached by the jury is the only one that can be fairly and reasonably drawn therefrom. *9Then, in paragraph (3), we say that the evidence must be such as to make the plaintiffs’ theory of causation reasonably probable, not merely possible. It seems to me that if the conclusion reached is the only reasonable one, it must necessarily be reasonably probable. The converse, however, is not logically required to be true. A conclusion could be reasonably probable, yet not be the only reasonable conclusion. Nor is the “only reasonable conclusion” theory consistent with paragraph (4), which states that the trial court’s examination is not to determine whether the conclusion reached is the only one that can be reached but, rather, whether the evidence is such that the jury can reach a conclusion advocated by the party introducing the circumstantial evidence.
The “only reasonable conclusion” test requires that the circumstantial evidence must in effect disprove every theory other than the one upon which the party offering the evidence relies. This is a stricter standard than that which we now require in criminal cases. In State v. Buchanan, supra at 28, 312 N.W.2d at 689, we said: “One accused of a crime may be convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence if, taken as a whole, the evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The State is not required to disprove every hypothesis but that of guilt.” The net effect of the Buchanan decision was to declare that in criminal cases one may be convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence even though the conclusion reached by the jury is not the only, one that can fairly and reasonably be drawn therefrom. It seems inappropriate for us to continue to maintain a much more stringent rule in civil cases than in criminal cases, given the fact that criminal cases require proof beyond a reasonable doubt and civil cases require only that proof be established by a preponderance of the evidence. It appears to me that that is not a consistent or logical position for the law to take.
Furthermore, it appears to me that the rule herein in Anderson is in conflict with what this court previously said in Danielsen v. Richards Mfg. Co., Inc., 206 Neb. 676, 294 N.W.2d 858 (1980). While we cited the “only reasonable conclusion” rule in Danielsen, we then went on to say, in syllabus 2. of that case:
*10Conjecture, speculation, or choice of possibilities is not proof. However, where there is evidence which will lead a reasoning mind to one conclusion rather than another, the evidence will be held to support the verdict. The circumstantial evidence must be such as to make plaintiff’s contention as to the fact reasonably probable, not merely possible.
Though the language is a little confusing, what is clear is that in Danielsen we did not require that before circumstantial evidence be admitted it appear that only one conclusion could be reasonably reached. We permitted the trial court to submit the case to the jury, including evidence that the equipment used in the operation may or may not have been supplied by the defendant, depending upon whether the jury believed the circumstantial evidence. In approving the district court’s submission of the evidence to the jury, we said in Danielsen, supra at 681, 294 N.W.2d at 861:
“The evidence must be such as to make the plaintiff’s theory of causation reasonably probable, not merely possible.” [Citation omitted.] Applying that principle to the present case, and assuming that the evidence is wholly circumstantial, the evidence was sufficient to make the identification of the source of the broken rongeur reasonably probable and not merely possible. We hold that the evidence was sufficient to permit the jury to find, with reasonable certainty, that Richards was the supplier of the rongeur used in the surgery performed on the plaintiff.
(Emphasis supplied.) The lesson of Danielsen seems to be that while we require that circumstantial evidence have some probability, we do not require it to be such that the jury can reach only one conclusion.
In the case of Arterburn v. St. Joseph Hospital & Rehabilitation Center, 220 Kan. 57, 61, 551 P.2d 886, 890 (1976), the Kansas court discussed the circumstantial evidence rule in civil cases, saying:
Circumstantial evidence, in a civil case, in order to support a verdict need not rise to that degree of certainty which will exclude every reasonable conclusion other than *11that reached by the jury. It suffices that such evidence affords a basis for a reasonable inference by the court or jury of the occurrence of the fact in issue, although some other inference equally reasonable might be drawn therefrom [citation omitted].
The Kansas court went on to say at 63, 551 P.2d at 892:
Therefore when a number of possible causes are shown for the damage to a plaintiff in a civil case, some of which are attributable to the defendant, while others are not, the plaintiff must show by a preponderance of the evidence to the satisfaction of the jury, that the cause attributed to the defendant is more probable than that attributed to other persons or agencies. There must be a rational basis for concluding it is more probable than not that the defendant’s negligence caused the plaintiff’s damage. It is not necessary for the plaintiff to eliminate all other possible causes of his injury in order to present a jury question [citation omitted].
Moreover, in Smith, Aplnt. v. Bell Telephone Co. of Pa., 397 Pa. 134, 137, 153 A.2d 477, 479 (1959), the Pennsylvania court noted:
Although some of the formulations appear to be mutually inconsistent, they have sometimes been used together... . The formula that “the circumstances must be so strong as to preclude the possibility of injury in any other way and provide as the only reasonable inference the conclusion plaintiff advances” is not a correct statement of the rule to be applied by the judge on deciding a motion for either a nonsuit or binding instructions. If that were the rule what would be the province of the jury? In no case where there was more than one reasonable inference would the jury be permitted to decide. Insofar as this rule is stated in our cases it is disapproved.
My quarrel is simply with our continuing to promote a rule of law in civil cases which requires that before circumstantial evidence may be sufficient to support a verdict, and therefore sufficient to be submitted to the jury, the conclusion to be reached must be the only one that can be fairly and reasonably drawn. I suggest the better rule is what I would describe as the *12“mere reasonableness” test.
This test may be described as expressed by the Connecticut Supreme Court in Console v. Nickou, 156 Conn. 268, 275, 240 A.2d 895, 898 (1968), wherein it said:
“The test of the sufficiency of proof by circumstantial evidence is whether rational minds could reasonably and logically draw the inference. Andrea v. New York, N.H. & H.R. Co., 144 Conn. 340, 344, 131 A.2d 642; Pierce v. Albanese, 144 Conn. 241, 256, 129 A.2d 606, appeal dismissed, 355 U.S. 15, 78 S. Ct. 36, 2 L. Ed. 2d 21. The proof need not be so conclusive that it precludes every other hypothesis. It is sufficient if the proof produces in the mind of the trier a reasonable belief that it is more probable than otherwise that the fact to be inferred is true.
. . .”
See, also, Wiley v. United Fire & Casualty Company, 220 N.W.2d 635 (Iowa 1974); Martelle v. Thompson, 283 Minn. 279, 167 N.W.2d 376 (1969); Pennsylvania Glass Sand Corp. of Okl. v. Ozment, 434 P.2d 893 (Okla. 1967).
If I were limited in my decision to the circumstantial evidence rule and not to the language of the policy, I would have affirmed the decision.