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Finocchio v. Mahler12/5/2000
Appeal From: Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Hon. John F. Kintz
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Hoff, C.J. and Knaup Crane, J., concur.
Opinion:
The plaintiff sued for damages for the wrongful death of her daughter, Amy Roberts. The defendants moved for summary judgment, supporting the motion by exhibits complying with Rule 74.04(e). The plaintiff responded with similar exhibits. In the view we take of the case it is not necessary to set out the underlying facts in detail, because the uncontroverted facts which we consider determinative are relatively few. In stating the facts we seek to give the plaintiff the benefit of all controverted matters of fact, and of all appropriate inferences that might be drawn from the facts in the record.
Defendant, William Mahler, his wife, and their two daughters occupied a residence in St. Louis County. Both parents worked and daughter Amanda, age 13, was often at home during days when school was not in session. Teenage girls frequently visited her at her home, and sometimes teenage boys appeared.
The parents allowed Amanda, who is also a defendant, to use the master bedroom while they were not at home, and her guests also spent some time in the bedroom, which contained a television set. The parents knew that Amanda had visitors who sometimes spent time in the master bedroom.
Among the boys who had visited the Mahler home was Daniel Troy, age 17. On one occasion in 1996 Amanda's father, William, suspected that some of the visiting boys, including Daniel Troy, had stolen some wrenches from the garage, and had instructed Amanda not to let Daniel come in the house. She apparently did not enforce this order.
William Mahler had acquired a Smith & Wesson 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. He stored the gun in the top drawer of dresser in the master bedroom under some clothes. The dresser drawer was not locked. The gun was not loaded when he stored it. He placed ammunition for the weapon in a night stand next to his bed. Nothing in the record indicates that Amanda knew that her father owned a gun or that there was a gun, or ammunition, in the house.
On July 5, 1997, a Saturday, Amanda was home without her parents. A close girlfriend was with her. She then invited a group of boys, including Daniel Troy, into the home. She considered Daniel "a rebel" and said that he had told her about having participated in a drive-by shooting. She and her guests were in the bedroom on that day and were going through her parents' belongings. Daniel found 9 mm shells in the night stand in the bedroom. Nothing in the submissions showed that Amanda was aware that he had intruded into the night stand.
The following day, Sunday, July 6, 1997, Amanda again invited Daniel, along with other teenagers, into the Mahler home and into her parents' bedroom. On this occasion he searched in the drawers and located the handgun, which he took from the drawer. He also found a clip of ammunition in the drawer. There is no indication that Amanda knew what he had done. When he left the premises he took the gun and the clip with him.
On the next day, Monday, July 7, Daniel visited Amy Roberts in her parents' home. The precise location with respect to the Mahler residence is not shown, but Amanda knew Amy. Daniel had the stolen gun with him and recklessly discharged it. Amy was fatally injured by the bullet. Daniel pled guilty to theft, armed criminal action, and involuntary manslaughter.
The plaintiff filed suit against William and Amanda, seeking damages for her daughter's wrongful death. She asserts that persons in control of firearms have a duty to exercise the highe
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