 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Travis v. Stone12/29/2000
Appeal From: Circuit Court of Johnson County, Hon. Joseph P. Dandurand, Judge
Opinion Vote: REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Holliger and Breckenridge, JJ., concur.
Opinion:
This appeal arises from a wrongful death action brought in Johnson County. Paul Travis' original action for the death of his wife was brought against three defendants: Meredith Lynne Stone, Lowell Walter Hulse, and Apex Digital TV, Inc., Hulse's employer. Travis was awarded a verdict against Stone, but did not succeed in his claims against Hulse and Apex. Following the verdicts for Hulse and Apex in the underlying action, Travis filed a motion for new trial on the basis of juror misconduct. The court heard testimony establishing that one of the jurors improperly visited the scene of the accident during the course of the trial.
The circuit court denied Travis' motion for new trial without comment. Travis now appeals that decision to this court on the basis that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion for a new trial in that the trial court erred in finding that Travis was not prejudiced by the juror's misconduct. Because the only evidence offered to rebut the presumption of prejudice was the testimony of the juror guilty of misconduct and because we hold that such testimony was insufficient to rebut the presumption of prejudice, we reverse the trial court ruling denying a new trial.
Background
Paul Travis' wife, Valorie Travis, was killed in an accident on February 16, 1998, while traveling southbound on Missouri Highway 13, near the intersection of Missouri Route 13 and County Road 250 in Johnson County, Missouri. Valorie Travis had come to a stop on Missouri 13 waiting to make a left turn off the highway. Defendant Stone was also traveling southbound on 13 behind Valorie Travis. Stone took her attention away from the road momentarily. When Stone realized that Travis was stopped, she attempted to avoid a collision by swerving to the right, but it was too late to avoid rear-ending Travis' vehicle. After being struck by Stone's vehicle, Travis' vehicle traveled forward, swerving into the northbound lane. Defendant Hulse, who was traveling in the northbound lane, then struck Travis' vehicle on the passenger side. Valorie Travis died as a result of the injuries she sustained in this second collision with the vehicle Hulse was driving.
Travis raised numerous claims of negligence against Hulse and Apex, all of which depended upon the ability of Hulse to see and react to the first collision between Valorie Travis' vehicle and Stone's vehicle. The two claims of negligence most pertinent to this appeal are: (1) that Hulse, had he been using the highest degree of care, should have known that there was a reasonable likelihood of a collision in time to have avoided colliding with Travis' vehicle and (2) that Hulse failed to keep a careful lookout. There was a substantial amount of conflicting testimony at trial regarding the sight distance of Hulse and the reaction time available to him.
Following the trial, Plaintiff Travis discovered that one of the jurors, Violet Zink, made a trip to the scene of the accident over the lunch hour, during a break in the testimony of Travis' accident reconstruction expert. Zink made the trip to examine the layout of the scene, including the incline of the road. Zink testified that she was concerned over the issue of the sight distance of Hulse and what he could have seen at the scene of the accident. Zink further indicated that her visit to the scene provided her with information that helped her to understand the testimony presented at trial.
Travis sought a new trial on the ba
Page 1 2 3 4 Missouri Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|